Zanzibar: The Majestic
by Stallions and Dragons
Summary: On a vacation to Navada, Seto Kaiba is transformed into a black stallion and rescued by a girl named Rae. Seto wants to become a human again so he can go home, but Rae will not give up on earning the stallion's trust. Will Seto givein and live as a horse?
1. Traitors in Black

A black blur sped across the Nevadan desert on that hot summer day in July. A stallion as wild as thunder and as black as midnight galloped at full speed. Following him were several motorcycles with riders clad in black racing after him. The horse had tried to avoid them all day and he was tiring out fast. Every muscle and tendon strained to cover as much dusty soil as possible. Foamy sweat formed around his sleek black neck and haunches. The black horse was giving his all. The men behind them sped like lighting and whistled and yelled at their target making him even more afraid. It was hard to believe that one minute, Seto Kaiba had been in his office looking at some ancient Indian artifact he had found and now he was running as fast as he could on four legs to out run three crazy men.

Seto had never been so angry, confused, or scared in his life and it was rare that things scared him to the point of giving his all to escape it. Weariness from the heat of the desert sun was bringing him down and he felt sore to even move his neck. The tall walls of canyons towered above him and he felt every muscle in his body give a sudden surge of energy. Surely, there was some way for him to evade them. Seto was even more upset that he couldn't remember how he became a horse. It was such a blur to him. It was almost scary. But after he realized he was in the middle of a thick forest he decided to find his way back home when the sound of roaring motors and the cries of men chased him away into the dry desert. Seto had come to Nevada for some stupid business reason and found a small Native American totem in the mail. After he threw the stupid artifact on the ground in an annoyed rage and that's when his quick, yet strange transformation had taken place. But he would worry about the consequences of being a mustang.

Pounding hooves joined in with Seto's and the ground began to vibrate as thousands of terrified mustangs galloped after him and into the tall canyon. Anxiously, Set tried to figure out as the hooves drowned out the motors' sound, why they were running and why they looked so terrified. He began to feel stupid as he followed them, but hopefully (if the dumb animals had any sense at all) the horses knew where to hide from them. But from what Set had heard this didn't look like an ordinary roundup, it looked like a trap. Seto neighed shrilly, trying to figure out what was going on. No horses gave him a decent answer except a few squeals of fear and confusion. The canyon walls rose higher and higher as the herd of horses ran deeper and deeper into the canyon's dangerous trap. A foal tripped and squealed in terror as she hit the hot floor. Seto knew that her delicate body would be trampled as easily as paper by the mad mustangs. He did the only thing sensible to do and nudged her to her feet. The foal bleated as she leapt to her feet and stumbled after the rest of the horses. Seto tried to get to the front, maybe he could change their course. But as he tried with all his might to get in front, the other horses playfully kicked and nipped him as if it were a race they were trying to win. Fatigue kept Seto from trying any harder than he was so he continued at a canter and gradually fell back. The horses, before they knew it, were trapped in a steel-barred corral, that looked like a giant prison in the red walled canyon. It was too late to turn back now, the gates were closed with a loud "bang" and it shook the earth. The black stallion snorted and wheeled around facing the man who had shut it. He had his cowboy hat covered his cold, dark eyes and he laughed softly. White-hot anger hissed in Seto's heart as he watched the man walk off. He reared and pawed at the gate. A loud clatter of hooves hitting metal echoed throughout the little canyon and dust stirred everywhere.

The other horses snorted with uncertainty and fear as they watched the black stallion throw his entire weight onto metal gate. Another earsplitting bang, split the nervous silence and with utter frustration, he sighed and stared warily at the three motorcycle men. They were talking but he could not make out what they were saying. What was going on? Did anyone else know about this? Seto's new horse instincts told him that he in the other mustangs were in danger, but his human instincts told him that he needed to find out what was really going on. Suspicion aroused anxiety in Set and the other horses sensed it too. They began to huddle together in a group, trembling. A huge truck came around a bend to where Seto could see it. The truck was green (or it used to be green because there were huge splotches of red mud all over it), and was towing an enormous cattle trailer. It was empty and Set began to feel even more nervous. They were towing them off, but to where? Auction? A dog food factory? What other places did mustangs go when they were herded like this? Seto could only remember a few and couldn't imagine what could be more worse. He even started to feel sorry for the poor, scrawny animals. The truck backed up to the gate of the corral and Set whirled around and cantered towards the other horses, yet he never took his eyes off of it. He whinnied and pawed the ground angrily. How dare hey do this to him, if only they realized who he really was. Then they would be sorry!

The corral was opened and most of the horses bolted in terror and went all over the place, screaming and trying to break loose. A young chestnut mare collided with Seto's shoulder and fell over on her back. Her hooves thrashed wildly as she struggled to get to her feet. Seto crow-hopped avoiding her hooves until she finally got to her feet and ran in another direction, whinnying fearfully. Seto's side was sore from where the mare hit and a icy pain over came him. He lowered his head and groaned softly until the pain finally passed. His head shot up again and he noticed that the horses were being driven into the trailer. Some were kicking and biting each other, one horse had blood oozing out of his leg. Seto winced as he thought of how it must have felt, but shook his head and beckoned for them to come down from the trailer. They ignored him. A sharp pain hit Seto's flank. He bolted in pain and turned to see one of the cowboys with a long whip. He cracked it violently making the horses even more terrified. First monsters on whirring things chased them into a prison cell and then threatened them with a long black snake. Seto gathered his remaining strength and approached the whip wielder, who was laughing under his breath. He faced him eye to eye like he would he opponent when he was dueling. The horse neighed violently and reared on his hind legs. He pinned his ears flat to his skull and charged at full speed, his mouth agape. The man struck the whip out. Seto ignored the warning and struck his sharp hoof at the man.

He dodged Seto's attack too and took the whip and it lashed with a sharp crack and it coiled itself around Seto's leg. The black stallion lost his balance and fell with a mighty thud on his chest. He tried to get up, but he was weak. He lifted his head and neighed mournfully. Finally he managed to get on three legs. His entangled leg throbbed and blood trickled down his fetlock. He snorted and faced the man again. He had let go of the long whip and was now roaring with laughter. Feeling enraged, Seto, ignoring the searing pain in his leg and chest galloped towards the man and rammed him with full force. The man cried out in pain and then blacked out. He lay still on the desert floor. Seto felt like crushing him with all his might, but his weariness got the better of him. He began to pant and saliva foamed around his black muzzle. He shook his head and limped away from the unconscious body. The whip had dug deep into his leg and with every breath he took it seemed to get even tighter. He gasped and sank to his knees. The other men crowded around him with guns in their hands.

Seto suddenly leapt to his feet and galloped clumsily into the trailer with the others. The mustangs hung their heads low. Seto knew they missed the sage and mountains and the wild blue sky, just as Seto missed Domino City and dueling, and his brother, Mokuba. Seto shook his head and sighed. His foot hurt to the point where it felt numb. The stallion licked his favored leg, he ignored the metallic bloody taste in his mouth and continued to clean his wound. Seto began gnawing at the black whip until finally it snapped and the whip lay on the bottom of the trailer like a coiled snake covered in blood. He pushed it aside with his nose and continued to clean his leg. The pain seemed to ease slowly and he had more feeling back in it. The horses remained calm until the truck started up.

Seto's head shot up. The horses began to panic. Their eyes rolled back in fear some of them tried to walk as the trailer rocketed back in forth bumping over the rocks and hills of the Nevadan desert. A chorus of frightful whinnies cried out from the tiny trailer. Set laid his ears back, annoyed by the commotion and the constant banging of hooves colliding with the metal walls. He wanted to tell them to shut up but knew that his anger would make them even more nervous. He decided to wait and prayed that the trailer would stop soon.

Rae Gilliland sat astride her huge Saddlebred gelding, Rex as she gazed on the vast plains of her home. There was not a single wild horse in sight and she began to feel more and more suspicious. Rex stamped his front hoof boredly and began nibbling on the tough desert grass. "I don't know where they could be, Rex," Rae said and patted her gelding's sturdy neck. The chestnut Saddlebred nipped Rae's boot and tossed his head. He wanted to run. "Rex, I can't let you do that, you'll throw me," Rae said and turned her gelding towards home. Rae squeezed Rex into a trot towards the main rode. Her father had told her that if she followed the rode, it would lead them to Pawson Creek Farms where Rae lived. Pawson Creek was a small bording farm that trained horses for three day eventing. Rae couldn't wait to get out of the uncomfortable Western saddle and into her new jumping saddle that she had won. Rex and his rider weren't used to the deep seated Western saddle that Rae was forced to ride in. Her father had said that they couldn't risk losing Rex if she fell out and he was dumb enough to go all the way back to San Fransico to his old farm.

A huge green Chevy truck rumbled up the back road that Rae was about to cross. Rex snorted, he was used to trucks and honking horns because he used to be a police horse. "Just like the old days huh boy?" Rae asked and patted the gelding's glossy red shoulder. Rex nickered as if to respond and nuzzled her leg. Rae kept her eyes on the truck and heard the sound of metal banging and nervous whinnies coming from a huge cattle trailor. Rae shook her head. The BLM couldn't have been rounding up the mustangs this early in the summer. Rex called out to them but the truck dissapeared before the horses inside could answer. Something inside Rae told her that she needed to find out what was going on.

Instead of turning right to go home, she followed the truck at a slow gallop. Rex tossed his head, wanting to go faster. Rae gripped the reins tighter, never taking her green eyes off of the red trailer. The truck turned into another back road that Rae had never seen before. She felt a little reluctant but she continued to follow, slowing to a trot. The back road led into a thickly forested trail. There was a sign that said "Private Property" before it and a wide chain with a padlock blocked the rest of the trail. The truck came to a screeching stop causing the horses in the trailor to panic. Rae halted Rex as a man dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans got out of the truck. He mummbled something to himself as he unlocked the chain, got back into his vehicle, and drove further down the path. Rae held her breath until she was sure the truck was almost out of sight before breaking Rex into a trot again.

The trail led to a small feild where the repulsive smells of cigarette smoke, manure, and beer filled Rae's nostrils. Rex curled his upper lip intaking the umfamiliar scent. He snorted and shook his head. He hated it almost as much as Rae did. The bleating of goats and the bawling of cattle were also heard. Rae felt nervous as she waited for the truck to park near a huge corral next to a cattle pen. The truck was parked in reverse in front of the corral gate and several men in black jackets hurried to the trailor. One carefully opened the trailer door while the others stayed close by. As soon as the gate was opened several horses flew out crashing into the corral walls. They wheeled in panic and ran in circles they looked terrified.

Among them was a coal black stallion, as tall a a thoroughbred. He had a delicate Arabic dished face and a handsome neck. Not a single speck of white was on his body. His flanks were flecked with caked mud and he was limping. He looked more frightened than the other horses and it made Rae angry to see him be treated this way. Rae wanted to know what was happening, these people were no BLM workers they were horse rustlers! Rae's heart pouded, they were going to sell the horses for dog food! Rae froze for minute, these people were doing an illegal act. It was considered a felony to capture wild horses if you weren't a licsenced BLM worker. She wanted to go over there a demand the release of the horses, but she thought better of it. They wouldn't listen to a kid. Suddeny Rex whinnied to the other horses. Rae gasped and hissed at Rex. The gelding flung his head up and pawed with excitment. "Hey! It's a kid! Get her!" one of the men cried out. Rex grunted as Rae thumped her legs hard into his sides and he rocketed off at a full gallop. Rae's heart pounded harder as they exited the forest and into the bright sunlight. Rex reared on his hindlegs and Rae slammed her weight on his shoulders forcing him to stand. Rex galloped off again. Rae didn't dare look back, afraid that she would see men with guns following her. She swallowed hard and made Rex gallop faster until her house came into veiw. Rae felt relieved to be home and slowed her horse to a walk. Rex sighed, and Sam patted his sweaty neck. She dismounted him and led him to the cool barn. Rex whinnied when he saw the horses. Several other horses returned his shrill greeting. Rex nudged his owner's shoulder. Rae felt slightly shaky as she untacked and groomed Rex. She hoped the cruel men didn't follow her. The thought gave her a haunting feeling and she looked around to make sure no black jacket men were hiding anywhere. She sighed, seeing that there were none. Rae felt bad for the poor horses that were probably traumitized. She thought about the tiny foals and the big black stallion. She had to do something and fast!


	2. Free Choices

Seto's black coat sparkled in the moonlight. The horses around him reiked of manure and sweat. Seto snorted, wishing he could breath, he wasn't usually clostrophopic, but he hated being surrounded by the disgusting animals. He bit the mare in front of him, who casually walked off. It was sort of childish, but Seto thought is was cool seeing the world at night through the eyes of a stallion (mainly because horses can see midnight as if it were dawn, that was worded weirdly...). He knew it had to at least be around 7:30 P.M. because he was getting hungry and he usually got hungry around that time when he was a human. 

Seto looked around for at least a clump of grass somewhere, it would be difficult getting used to his new diet, but he had to eat something. Seto lowered his head putting weight on his favored foot. He winced and his head shot up. Carefully Seto tried again, this time balancing himself where he didn't have to hurt it. He sighed and nuzzled his hurt foot and took a mouthfull of the fresh grass. He chewed on it and then swallowed hard. He shook his head, now he had a bad taste in his mouth, Seto stamped his other front hoof and took another reluctant mouthfull. Again he chewed slowly and swallowed. By the time he had eaten a few more bites he began to get used to the foul taste of the damp grass. Seto stopped eating, although he was still very hungry and went to go walk around, he neeeded to know where he was so he could get out of there. Seto was still shaky from the traumitizing trailer ride. He shook his head trying to drown out the terrible memories. Still he felt lost and frightened. Seto barged his way through a few mares until he was facing the corral gate. He saw a cabin with a light on and three men standing outside smoking. Seto curled his lip intaking the foul stench. They were talking and laughing a few were pointing at the corral Seto was in. Seto pricked his ears trying to hear what they were saying. There was one who was standing still. He had long blonde hair and a mustache, he also wore a black jacket and jeans like the others did. He stood watching the corral with his cold gray eyes.

"Well, I say we did a good job today, boys," the man muttered and sneered at Seto. Seto pawed the ground angrily, he didn't like this man at all, but what excatly was he planning to do with them.

"That stud is gonna make double what we usually have, hasn't been another horse with that much meat in a long time," he cackled "Nope, no in a long, long time,"

"Ya' think he's pure mustang, Caleb?" asked a tall red-headed, freckled kid who looked about thirteen.

"Of course he is, you don't see Quarter Horses runnin' around in thw wild do ya' Sam?" asked Caleb glaring at the boy. Seto strained his ears trying to listen closer to what they were saying. Seto still didn't understand what was going on.

"He'll fill three whole bags , I bet you five dollars he will!" said Sam pointing to the black stallion. Seto neighed and bucked in annoyance, he didn't like were this conversation was going. It sounded like a plan to kill him for dog food. Seto shuddered looking at his delicate hide. He would hate to feel a sharp dagger pierce it.

Seto didn't want to be near anyone anymore, he wanted to go home! Badly! He bellowed to the other horses, biting them and swearing to them in Horse (this is only a figure of speech; not to say that he was really swearing, it just sounded like it). They ran away from him, neighing and rolling their eyes as if to say _Sheesh, someone needs an attitude adgjustment_.

Seto finally, after driving off several rebellious two year olds, got peace to himself. He stood with a hind foot cocked back (he could finally balance himself on his hurt foot) and hung his head low. He was hungry and tired, but most of all he was infuriated. It was too bad to he didn't have the energy left in him to break-out. His legs and chest were sore and he was sticky with sweat. Seto felt like lying down to sleep, but he wouldn't dare. He wasn't sure when those rustlers were going to decided to turn him into glue or dog food or whatever they said. He closed his eyes but his mind was flooded with terrifying memories of the past day and nightmares of running constantly into blackness. His last comforting thought was that Mokuba was safe and that was all that mattered. He sighed and neighed mournfully into the mountains where he hoped Mokuba would hear his brother calling for him.

"Rae, I don't think there's anything we can do about it, Honey," Mrs. Gilliland said at the table that night for supper. Rae looked at her plate. She could barely eat, she thought about the poor mustangs trapped in that small corral, probably hungry and thirsty...

"Cheer up honey," Rae's father Mat, said noticing Rae hadn't touched her food.

"I just wish, I could do something," Rae mummbled "There were tiny little foals and a big black stallion,"

"Rae, your not getting another stallion, Rex was enough trouble before we gelded him and he was just a Saddlebred, let alone a mustang that's never seen people before," said Mrs. Gilliland knowing what her daughter was thinking.

"Come on Mom!" Rae begged "He's so beautiful, I want to save him, those men will kill me if they found out I was just...setting him free,"

"Rae, the Bureau will deal with this and you won't have to worry about the mustangs anymore," her father said, his statment meaning that his word was final.

Rae sighed. She knew that last time she got a stallion that he was just too much for her to handle, but that was a long time ago, now she was old enough to handle one just like him. Rae opened her mouth to speak, but her father's warning glare told her that nothing she said would work. Rae took a mouthful of broccoli and chewed it slowly. She wished that she had done something before this all happened. But she knew that her parents knew best and that they had had more experiance with horses than she. Rae glanced at her mother.

"They had cute, tiny little foals, Mom," said Rae, grinning slightly.

"Good one, Rae," said Mrs. Gilliland.

Rae sighed and got out of her seat "I'm not very hungry," she muttered and walked up to her room. Rae laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling wondering what the horses were doing or thinking right now. She looked at a beautiful photograph of a black Arabian stallion running through a feild of wild flowers. His coat was so black it looked blue. Rae thought the photo as her guardian angel because whenever she looked at it, it always made her feel safe and loved. It reminded her of the mustang she had seen. Her heart began to break as she thought of what would happen. She stifled a sob and rubbed her hand over her eyes that were filled with tears. She picked up a stuffed horse and hugged it quickly before tossing it back onto the floor.

Every single thing in Rae's room had something to do with horses. Her bedspread had wild horses galloping across it and a mural of a mare and her colt was painted on one of her walls. Photos and portraits of horses decorated every wall of her room. Another one of her personal favorites was a photo that lay by her bedside with her, as a 9 year old, mounted on a pony at her first horse show. She had won second place, but she thought that the red ribbon looked better on her pinto pony, Milky Way than the blue anyway. Her mother and had laughed herself to tears when little Rae had told her that.

Rae smiled at the memory. She liked rememberin what it was like before they moved to Nevada. They had lived in Kentucky, with a high class show jumping farm and several beautiful and talented horses. Rae had learned everything about horses there. She loved the rolling green pastures, the thousands and thousands of horse associated activities there were to do, and being homeschooled with her mother. But after a terrible disease swept the farm and it's beloved horses. The Gilliland family were forced to sell their famr and move to another place. Nevada had seemed, to Rae's father, a great place to start over. Rae didn't realize she was leaving so much behind until she had to give up her high class show jumping life and turn to just pleasure riding in the mountains.

Rae sighed thinking about the black stallion again. If she had stayed in Kentucky, he would have been dead by now. She slightly regreted hating the Western life, at least she got to see wild horses and still have horses at home. Rae realized that she was luckier than she ever had been. But it would be nice to go back to the old shows she used to go to. She imagined herself atop the black stallion jumping effortlessly over oxers and water spreds and bull finches and galloping over the beautiful Kentucky blue grass in the morning during the Lexington Cup: the most prestigious three day event in the world. It was too bad she couldn't ride in it now, if only she had stayed long enough she would have even made it to the Olympics. But none of the horses she had now were potiential jumpers or in good shape for competing. They were just trail horses, merely fit for traveling the rugged Rocky Mountains, canyons, and creeks. Rae had dreamed of seeing all those things once, but now it seemed boring to even think about it. She longed for the thrill and adrenaline of the stadium jumping ring and the crowd cheering as she and her horse flew over jump after jump. She closed her eyes and tried to remember a more exciting moment.

There was a knock at her bedroom door and Rae was roused from her day dreams.

"Come in," Rae said. Mrs. Gilliland poked her head into her daughter's room. She looked at the pictures and model horses that decorated Rae's room, pretending to admire them before she said anything.

"Your father called the Bureau of Land Managment and they'll take care of the problem A.S.A.P.," Mrs. Gilliland said and she gave a slight smile.

"I was just thinking about Kentucky and what my friends are probably doing now," Rae looked at the picture on her desk. Her mother knew that she was talking about the horses on their old farm.

"I miss them too, Rae, but it was the best thing for us. We can't run a business with sick animals, it just doesn't work that way, if a horse is not in the condition to compete, we can't make money and if we can't make money to feed the horses, than how are we going to feed ourselves?" Mrs. Gilliland asked.

Rae nodded, she had already heard this conversation before. The last time she heard it was when she had accidentaly overfed a horse. It had not gotten sick, but her father had warned her about wasting feed on precious horses. She had felt guilty but learned from it, this time it was harder to take. She had not given up just one measly horse, she had given up her life.

"I want that stallion," said Rae "If you'll just give me a chance, I want that stallion. I want to train him to be the best and I want to go everywhere with him, because I know, just by looking at him, that he can make it to the top,"

"Rae, your father said no, and that's final," Mrs. Gilliland said "If there was a certain reason that the horse could come here, I'm sure he would have said yes, but this is a wild stallion! Not some riding school pony,"

Rae sighed, she had had enough. She understood this already, she just needed the chance to prove that she could do something a little more advanced than she had been doing. Rae's mother turned to leave and before she shut the door behind her she said "You know we're trying to protect you,"

A loud earsplitting noise rang in Seto's ears and he woke suddenly. The sun was barely rising in the sky. The stallion snorted curiously at the other horses. A few were looking longingly at a barrel of hay that was placed before the cattle pen. The noise had been one of the young horses banging on the metal gate trying to get to the hay.

Seto whinnied sharply at the horse that had made all the ruckus and tryed to go back to sleep again. But the horses had became too excited to quiet down. Annyed Seto shook his head and barrel through the group of mares crowding the corral gate. Seto chased them away and looked through the bars. The man and boy from the previous night were feeding the white faced Hereford cattle, that Seto knew would be going to the same destination as he if he didn't get out of there in time. Seto began to feel nervous and helpless again. He had to find a way out of here, he began to panic. He whinnied anxiously and shook his head several times as if to shake off water. Sweat began forming on his flanks and he paced in circles, whinnying and pawing the ground. His hunger made things worse and he began to feel weak. A sharp pince on his hindquarters made him whirl around, his ears pinned back. The same colt that had banged on the gate was standing behind him, playfully nipping him. Seto nickered a warning and then turned away but the horse kept pestering him. The colt looked about four years old, that meant the next year he would be a full grown stallion and it looked like he was practicing for his big debut. That was when Seto gave him a run for his money.

Seto neighed and faced the colt, trying to look intimidating by showing his teeth and snaking his head towards him. The colt mimiced Seto, he squealed and reared up on his hindlegs. Seto had had enough, now he was mad! The blacks tallion reared up, towering above the younger horse. The colt layed his ears back and battered his front hooves. Seto, with such speed and force, hit the colt square in the chest with a strike of his hoof. The colt screamed in pain and fell over backwards. The colt got up, dust and blood ran down his chest and legs. Seto had left a pretty nasty gash in the colt's breast. The colt groaned in pain and left the stallion alone.

Seto sighed, he was glad there were no other stallion there. He couldn't risk an injury like the colt had suffered. Then he would definitily be destroyed. The blaring of sirens startled the horses into a panic. Seto was probably the only one who didn't think he could go through walls and crash into the corral walls. Police cars entered the area. Caleb and Sam looked terrified and ran into the little shack that they stayed in. Several police officers got out of the cars. One looked like a cowboy with a big Stenson hat, work boots on, and jeans. Behind the police cars was a van and a trailor that said UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LANDMANAGMENT on the side of it. A woman dressed in a business-like outfit and a girl who looked a little bit older than Mokuba stepped out of the van. The girl had dark brown hair and blue eyes just like Seto did. She looked nervous and at the same time triumphant. The police officers barged into the house and brought out three men. Seto pricked his ears in excitment. This would be his chance to be set free.

Seto heard the men arguing with the officers, but the cowboy, (who was obviously the sherrif in town) said nothing but examined them with his cold eyes as if he was trying to fish out their lies. The girl had left the women and walked over to the corral gate. She looked at Seto with her blue eyes and leaned against the gate. Seto turned away from her, he didn't want to bother with another human until he was at home. The girl clicked her tongue and held out her hand which was holding oats.

Seto sniffed the oats from the wind, but refused to go near her. He merely gave a stubborn grunt and walked away from her leaving the humans to themselves. Seto felt more relaxed now that he knew he would soon be rescued. He watched the girl out of the corner of his eye. She looked about 15 judging by her height and was obviously eager to see him. She had a strong of resemblance of Mokuba, and the thought of his worried brother at home made him shiver with guilt. His heart couldn't resist at least going nearer to her, to at least see what she wanted.

Seto turned around pretending to sense something and then pricked his ears at the girl with the oats. He nickered hungrily, maybe trying a little oats wouldn't be so bad, at least it would last him until he became human again. Seto lowered his head, his soft brown eyes never leaving the girl's blue ones. The stallion walked over until he was almost close enough to touch her with his muzzle. He sniffed the oats in her hand. When he made sure it wasn't poison, he nibbled some of the grain.

Seto was amazed at how good the sweet molasses covered pellets tasted. It was better than he thought. He savored the sweet taste before emptying the girl's hand. Seto whickered with pleasure and sniffed the girl's hand again. He wanted more!

The girl smiled at him and then laughed, startling the stallion before her. Seto threw his head up and backed away in alarm without realizing how more fearful and aware he had become ever since he became a horse. The girl's laugh ceased into a warm smile. Seto saw a glint of happiness in the girl's eyes, she wanted to be friends with Seto. Seto returned to the gate, this time he stood close enough where she could touch him. She reached out to touch his sleek black neck but he turned away from her. He still didn't trust her all that much.

The girl spoke softly "Hey, pretty boy," said the girl "I'm Rae," she said and giggled again as Seto twitched an ear in her direction. Seto tossed his head out of joy and cantered a full circle around the corral, before returning to her.

"I'm going to take you home, boy," said Rae "I'm sure you'll be happier there,"

Seto nodded and gave a horsey whistle. This girl would set him free and he would go home and see his brother again, but the constant question that ran through his mind was, would he ever be human again? He would save the answer for later, right now he was eager to get out of the cramped corral and to be able to run again.

The officers had taken care of the rustlers and the police cars drove away from the clearing. Seto was relieved that they were gone and looked at the white van that remained in the yard. Seto knew the BLM rounded up wild horses and a certain time of the year and stationed them at a place where people could adopt them (he had learned that from a brochure). Seto looked at the white trailor, wondering how all the horses were going to fit into it. It had to be at least a six horse trailor and there were more than six horses in the pen. What was going on? The sense of security that Seto had had before had faded and he began to feel nervous again. Even Rae's soothing words didn't comfort him.

The woman from earlier was accompanied by two men that Seto had not noticed before. They had riding clothes on and led two small saddle horses. "Get the ones that look more vulnerable and that big black stallion, check them all for brands and chips," the lady said and the men mounted their steeds and slowly entered the corral. All the horses cowered in fear at the back at the man astride the horses. Seto tensed, ready to flee, never taking his eyes off of the men. One of them muttered something to the other and their horses broke into a gallop. Seto exploded dashing around the corral avoiding the lasso's they weilded in their hands. Seto saw the colt he had fought earlier fall to the ground when a rope had wrapped around his neck.

The colt bleated in terror and was dragged away from the heard. And into the trailor. Seto heard the colt whinnying in fear. The other man caught a skinny mare and easily loaded her with the terrified colt. Seto's adrenaline was rushing and fire was in his heart, he wasn't going to let these men catch him. After succesfully catching five horses, it was Seto's turn to be trailored both cow horses charged him their riders twirling the ropes in their hands.

Seto neighed defiantly and ran away before they could get close enough. Seto faced them, accepting their challenge, and their fight began. The men tried again, their horses blocking Seto's every move until finally he was cornered. It wasn't long before Seto felt the rope slap around his neck. He stopped short and reared on his hindlegs, battering his front hooves like clubs. The rope barely kept Seto from falling over backwards and he landed sqarely on his hurt leg. He groaned in pain as he landed and nursed his foot. He felt the rope tug on his neck. He jerked his head back, fighting and leaning on the rope, but the cattle horses leaned into Seto's weight and they were all too much for him.

Seto wasn't giving up to quickly, he faught and twisted in the air as the riders dragged him out of the corral. As he exited, Seto broke into a frantic fit of bucks and kicks fighting with all his heart. Finally, with a flexible toss of his neck he flung the rope off and almost instantly rocketed into a full gallop, bound for home.

Rae gasped as the stallion raced away from the clearing, upsetting the cattle in the neighboring feild. Rae needed to think fast, she looked at one of the cow horses. "Excuse me," she said and shoved one of the men off their horses. The man landed lightly on the ground and before he could protest, Rae had pushed her horse into a gallop after the black stallion.


	3. To a Mysterious End

**Just a short and sweet chapter...**

Seto's hooves pounded like flint on the dusty floor as he galloped away. He felt more relieved than ever to stretch his legs. Even his hurt foot, seemed to enjoy to be moving on the the terrain. If he could get home, Mokuba would take care of it, he knew that Mokuba loved ponies, surely he'd tend to the pain that had hacked at his leg ever since yesterday. The pain seemed to fade with every stride as he thought about taking a warm bath in his hot tub and sleeping in his warm bed that night, but his dreams were cut short by the sound of hooves clattering after him.

Seto looked and saw the girl mounted on a pinto Quarter Horse going at full speed after him. Seto gave snort of annoyance. _Not them again!_ He thought and surged faster and faster. He knew the short-legged steed would tire quickly over a long time. Seto was just getting warmed up. Already sweat flecked the cow horse's sides. Avoiding them would be a simple.

Rae's heart pounded as she chased after the stallion. He was getting faster and faster and her horse was wearing down. His sides heaved and he was losing interest in his target as he struggled to maintain his stride. The Western saddle was rubbing her legs raw and she gritted her teeth fighting the pain. Sweat rolled down her face and she too was getting tired. They needed to slow down or her horse would trip.

Seto neighed triumphantly, taunting the tiring horse. The horse gave a wheezy come back through his lips, but Seto ignored it and began bucking playfully and prancing like a colt. Seto whinnied a sassy farewell to the girl and cantered away.

Rae felt angry inside. She had lost the horse of her dreams at the most closest of chances, she knew she had to get him soon. She had to!

Rae pushed her gelding into a gallop again. The horse snorted and broke into a clumsy lope after the horse. Seto caught them out of the corner of his eye, something told him, they weren't giving up. This girl must have been more determined than ever to catch him, if she even knew who he really was behind his satin black coat, she would think twice. Seto slowed down near a lush green pasture and stared at the duo that had followed him. The horse was snatching at the blades of grass, greenish slobber dripping from his lips. Seto shook his head and stepped farther away from them and lowered his ownhead to graze.

As the black stallion munched on the tender shoots, ignoring the fact that he was human on the inside. His big horse stomach couldn't resist the giant salad bowl before him. He grazed on feeling stronger, ignoring the horse and rider that were edging closer to him.

Rae held her breath and grasped the rope in her hand. Should she let the stallion graze, or catch him now. Well it would be too bad if he got away on her only chance. She lifted the rope, making a lasso out ofit and twirled it silently over her head, her heart pounding. The rope sailed through the air just as the black stallion lifted his head and _SLAP!_ The rope landed elegantly on Seto's glossy black neck.

Seto suddenly jerked back. Putting all his body weight on the rope, fighting for his life. He bucked and faught violently. Rae let go of her reins and clung onto the horn of the saddle. Her horse leaned back, his nostril's flaring as he tried to look agressive. Seto pinned back his ears and charged them angrily. Rae gripped the horn as her horse swung to avoid the stallion. The rope, which was wrapped around Rae's stomach tightened painfully, she felt as if her organs were being constricted by a ferocious python. Sweat rolled down her cheek and she clung on for life, not daring to let go of the saddle.

Seto reared in frustration. The rope was choking him. The more he pulled back, the tighter it became until he could barely breathe. Seto stopped fighting, knowing it would be the only thing to help him. Seto sighed and lowered his head, he hated feeling defeated, it made him angrier. Seto gasped for air as the rope loosened. Maybe if he surprised the girl, she wouldn't be ready when he pulled the same thing he did on the cowboy.

Rae sighed as both horses relaxed. She clucked softly to her gelding. The pinto pulled away from the stallion. Seto felt the pressure on his neck and he jerked his head up and started the big fit all over again. He bellowed hoarsly and tried to tear at the rope with his teeth and flint hard hooves. The same panic he had before weakend him and he felt scared and trapped. Rae's soothing words didn't help either and he wasn't going to follow her. No matter what he was going home. To his real home.

Galloping hooves echoed behind Rae. It was the cowboy-dressed sheriff and he seemed to have followed her when she rode off. Relief washed over Rae, she knew this person could help her. He was riding a blood-bay mare and he looked concerned as he got closer to the struggling girl.

"You may want to grab the reins," he grunted slowing his horse next to hers. "Don't worry, if that rope gets too tight it'll come off...eventually,"

Rae stared at the reins that lay loosly on the saddle. Could she trust this man's advice? She looked at the stallion who was tossing his head and crow hopping left and right. Rae reached for the reins with one hand and then snatched them both before the stallion went crazy again. Luckily, he didn't.

Seto gave up. It was the worst and stupidest descion to make but he had to give in. This girl wasn't the "give-up-to-soon" type. She had a stubborn spirit, it reminded him of himself as a competitive duelist. Some strange instinct made Seto wondered if she dueled herself.

Rae leaned back on the reins slowly. The horse underneath her backed up. His body tense and he ears pricked anxiously at the stallion. Seto took a hesitant step toward her. The smell of oats caught his nose and he began to gradually come closer and closer to her until he was almost abreast of her horse. Seto nipped the gelding, Rae was riding and poked Rae's shirt with his muzzle to show that he wasn't happy with her.

Rae smiled and reached out to stroke the stallion's head. Seto's eyes widened and he threw his head up. How dare she try to make up with him again, he wasn't falling for that! Seto reluctantly followed Rae all the way to where the white trailor was parked. He looked inside the gloomy trailor and pretended to eat some grass, trying to stall. A tug on his neck made him jerk his head up again.

Rae sighed. The stallion was more challenging than she thought. She looked at the men on foot for help but they were busy examining the penned horses. One of the horses that was already inside, neighed shrilly and struck at the trailor wall. Seto bellowed and pawed the ground angrily. Rae clicked her tongue again. Seto sat back on his haunches and strained against the rope. Rae's horse half reared, Rae gripped the saddle and forced her horse to stand still. The horse was still anxious. It stummbled and leapt back, trying to brace back against the stallion's weight.

Seto reared and neighed angrily and another fight began. Rae's horse went crazy, it bucked and twisted clumsily. The horse's jerky movement unbalanced the mighty black stallion and he fell backwards onto his back. Seto whinnied in pain as his backbone was crushed by his weight. Seto floundered on the ground until he finally scrammbled to his feet. Seto shook his head, he felt slightly dazed from the fall and stood still trying to gain his composure again. Rae still hadn't lost mometnum and pulled back on the rope. Seto ran blindly in the other direction and nearly collided with a barrel of hay.

Rae gasped as the black horse nearly missed the hay and trotted in a circle until he finally forced himself to be dragged into the trailor. Rae shut the ramp before Seto gave an enraged whinny and charged the ramp. It was securely locked so he couldn't get out. There was a sickening thud as Seto hit the ramp, making the entire trailor rattle. The horses secured inside gave cries of terror. Rae panted and wiped sweat from her brow, her horse was also sweaty and he looked terrified at the moment. Rae patted his sweat-lathered neck, dismounted from the muddy saddle, and led him to the water trough for a drink.

Seto sighed shakily, his head hurt from the fall and every limb in his body was sore. His hurt foot throbbed and felt limp and hot. Seto lowered his head and nursed the wound with his tongue. Inside he was deeply frightened. He had no idea where he was going, or what would happen. Even if it was something for his benefit, it wouldn't make him feel safe and he had a feeling it had something to do with this girl named Rae. He felt defeated and broken. It made him feel angry inside. He hated that downward feeling he had, and he had felt it one to many times before. It all started with that stupid Yugi Moto and his faithful mutt, Joey. And then his retarded "step-brother" had to ruin everything again after he was just feeling his proud spirit kick in again. Seto looked around at the firghtened horses. The wimpy looking mare nickered and rested her chin on his back. Seto neighed angrily and bit the mare on the nose. She banged her head on the trailor roof and edged to the back of her tiny stall as far as her tie rope would let her.

Seto could hear tense voices outside. He peered through two boards and saw the men, the woman, and the girl talking to each other. They didn't seem to be arguing, but they had nervous looks on their faces and exchanged worried glances as the girl spoke. Seto strained his ears to hear them but all he caught was a few muffled words and then the mooeing of cattle. It wasn't long before the trailor began to rattle and depart from the small clearing where the rustlers had kept them.

Seto closed his eyes, he hadn't slept all night and his body was trembling from fatigue. He felt hungry and the moist tender grass he had eaten seemed like ages ago. He nipped his grumbling stomach and suddenly felt dizzy. He finally lowered his head and dozed fitfully.


	4. Trusting Blind Faith

Seto had dozed off when he felt the the floor beneath him jolt. He jerked awake ready to defend himself, when he realized the trailor had only stopped. The horses whinnied nervously, straining on their ty ropes. Seto nickered grumpily, he hated being awoken from a good nap. Seto peeked through the trailor bars seeing green pastures from all sides with high, fences around them. Seto shivered anxiously and began listening for familiar voices. Seto lowered his head and nibbled at some stray hay that had fallen to the floor. He was terribly thirsty. 

The trailor ramp opened and two men in beige uniform, with ropes stood at the front. They began to close in on Seto. Seto bleated weakly and shook his head. _Leave me alone_. He pleaded. _I'm scared, leave me alone!_

The men whispered to each other. One took out a handfull of pellets. Seto pricked he ears and licked his chops. Saliva fell down his lips as he wished to savor the sweet molasses covered pellets. But he wouldn't dare approach the two men, he knew they would take him somewhere. Somewhere among the tall fences in the green pastures, he would be confined for life, probably with a bunch of other poor mustangs like himself.

"Easy fella'," said one of the men "Easy boy," he held out the pellets and wrattled the container. Seto laid his ears back and backed away. _No, I don't trust you!_

The man clucked his tongue and wrattled the pellets again. Seto approached slowly, his aching hunger getting the better of him. The other horses pricked their ears curiously and whickered hungrily. Seto dipped his head in the oat's container and began munching slowly, savoring every bite. The man stroked Seto's satiny black neck, murmuring praises.

While the stallion ate, the man took a white nylon halter and slipped it over his head. Seto gave the man just enough time to fasten the last buckle when he jerked back. The man gasped and clung to the lead rope. "Easy, boy!" he cried holding the side of the halter to steady the nervous horse.

Seto tossed his head and attempted to nip the man, but he couldn't reach is arm. Flustered, Seto forced himself to be dragged down the ramp. The sunlight burned his eyes when he exited the dark trailor. Seto snorted and blinked adjusting to the sun that was now high in the sky. The other man grabbed Seto's neck suddenly. Seto gasped in terror and half reared as the man tied a blindfold around his eyes. Seto whinnied in anger and reared blindly, pawing at the air. Seto felt himself being pulled down to earth. He jerked and twisted and tossed his head, hoping to rid of the blindfold. Something was going on.

The man on the other end of the rope was struggling to drag the stallion into a tiny enclosed box where a veteranarian was waiting. Seto's nostril's flared as he tried to make out what trap he was entering. Seto's hindleg hit the corner of the box. He neighed in panic as he realized he was trapped. Seto stopped fighting and listened. There were soft, soothing voices talking to him. Seto relaxed, but only slightly, he was still anxious.

Seto felt soft hands run along his neck. He sniffed the hands, and realized they were covered with latex gloves. It had to be a vet or some sort of doctor. Seto nickered in fear. _Please don't hurt me!_ He pleaded in Horse. _Please don't hurt me, I'm scared_!

Seto felt the hands withdraw from his shoulder and felt a sharp prick in his shoulder. Seto gave the needle pricking his hide just enough time to get all the liquid in him, before he panicked, knocking the needle to the ground. Seto jerked his head from side to side. He banged the boards with his hooves. Where they euthanizing him? The fear of dying in his sad state made Seto's heart sink with fear. But Seto did not stagger or faint, he only felt a small tingling in his limbs. He felt a little drowsy and lowered his head and sighed deeply. Seto felt something touch his shoulder again.

Every muscle in his body tensed and he jolted and lashed out with his teeth. He inhaled, trying to identify what person touched him. He caught a strong smell of perfume and peppermint. He tossed his head, it must have been that stupid vet trying to give him another shot. Seto stamped a hind foot and remained in a semi-relaxed state. Something brushed against his neck and he felt hard rough hands grab his jaw. Seto froze. Either it was the medicine that was coursing through his veins, or the terrible shock of fear that rattled him. He held his breath as the hand lifted his mouth open Seto pinned his ears back and tryed to shake off the hands prying his mouth open. The hands held him down hard enough to alow a pasty liquid fill his mouth. Seto finally got free from the jaw breaking hands and gagged on the terrible taste in his mouth. It had been dewormer paste. It tasted horrible, like freezer burnt icecream mixed with aluminum. His sputtering and gagging caused the medicine to go down his throat like chewing gum. Seto shook his head repetitivly trying to rid of the foul taste.

The halter tugged on his head again. Seto snorted and dug his hooves in the ground. A clucking sound was heard. Seto pricked his ears, he knew he could trust these people, they were trying to help him, but he didn't want to trust them. The stallion gave in and cautiously, he blindly followed the men, occaisionally sniffing the wind. Seto was forced to stop and the blindfold was lifted off his head. Seto was glad to see again and he blinked with relief. He was in a green pasture, filled with horse grazing peacfully. They were setting him free! Seto gave the men just enough time to unbuckle the halter straps before he bucked with joy and galloped away, far away from the horses and the people. He was finally going home.

Seto continued to gallop across the green feild, expecting it to turn into sage and desert, but it was nothing but rich, knee-deep grass for many feet. Seto began to tire and he looked for signs of the canyons and valleys he had crossed when he fled from his home. But the green grass never ceased. A clump of aspen trees was nearby, he headed towards them. Wasn't there a forest near Navada Kaiba Corp? He galloped on, the stressfull feeling that had filled him passed by like the breeze that whistled past him. Seto ran further into the forest when he saw a towering fence blocking the way. Seto looked at it. He would never be able to jump it. He followed it at a canter, hoping to find a way around it, but it kept going on and on. Seto squealed curiosiously and ran faster and faster. Panic was closing in on him.

Seto neighed frantically and began to hypervenalate as he tryed to get around the fence. He began to break out in a nervous sweat and he tripped several times over the gnarled tree branches. Seto turned on a grassy ridge following the tall fence when he came face to face with the highway. Seto followed the fence with his eye and far in the distance he could see the same exact horses. The feeling of being trapped again dawned on him like a thousand hail stones. He was infuriated.

Seto screamed in rage and rammed the fence. As soon as his black hide hit the railing, he felt a sharp, electrifying sensation that made every nerve in his body scream with pain. Seto squealed and backed away violently. The fence was not only tall, but it was an electric fence and it had high voltage. Seto began to tingle all over with numbness. He felt dizzy from the sudden shock that had hit his bloodstream. He trotted away from the fence and stared at it for a while in silent horror. Now he knew there was no way out. He gave a frusrated snort and backed up to a tall tree root jutting out from the ground. Seto stepped over it with his hindfeet, but his front limbs weren't so lucky and he banged his hurt foot on the root, hard.

Seto threw his head up and whinnied in pain as his foot ,that was once scabbed over, began to gush blood again. Seto was shaky with pain as he lowered his head to examine his injury. It looked terrible, it was yellowish brown and now had a trickle of red blood running down it. Seto nuzzled it and limped away from the forest and into the green pasture. Seto sighed, not from exhaustion, but from pure misery. He nibbled at the rich green grass, but the pain in his foot didn't cease and it worsened. Seto grazed like the other horses. He knew from now on he would be one of them until he somehow, magically turned back into a human or sprouted wings and flew over the fence.

Seto felt guilty as he chewed on the grass, he went through how he waisted his life on that stupid card game (no, the author doesn't think it's stupid) and that stupid company. He thought about poor Mokuba never seeing his brother again and have to live with someone else.

_And I forgot to tell him how to run Kaiba Corp.,_ he thought miserably. Seto stopped eating and stood still with his head low, wishing he would die right now. He closed his eyes and opened them again to see if he was only dreaming, but he was still staring at the endless green pasture under the hot sun with his foot still throbbing with pain. Seto heard a snort from the other horses and he turned his head to see a big, homely looking, grulla stallion. The grulla nudged Seto's neck.

Seto neiged in out rage and sank his teeth into the stallion's neck. The grulla squealed in pain and began doing to the same to Seto. The grulla reared on his hindlegs and grazed Seto's shoulder with his hoof. Seto screamed in both pain and fury and he charged the stallion. He looked absolutly terrible as he rammed into the big, clumsy horse with his ears pinned down to his skull, mouth agape, and eyes rolling in his head. The other horse snorted and loped away. Seto gave a satisfied stamp with his good hoof and tossed his delicate dished head. That was the last time that horse was going to mess with him. His moment of triumph didn't last long when he realized that he was still a horse and he didn't have wings, two legs, or apposable thumbs yet.

Seto lifted his head and looked towards the gate. The same girl was standing watching him. Seto pretended to be interested in another clump of grass and turned away from her, after all she was the one who caused this trouble. Seto winced as he put weight on his foot. He grunted and staggered into a different position. Seto knew he couldn't just stand there forever, his leg needed at least a bandage before it got infected. Seto knew what to do.

The black stallion walked up to the gate slowly and cautiously, maybe if she had oats in her hands, it would give him an excuse to go near her. When he was about three arm length's away from her he stopped and pretended to be examining her pockets from a distance.

"Sorry, no treats, boy," Rae said as if he were some kind of pet. Seto bellowed softly and winced at the pain in his foot. Rae finally drew her attention to his foot. She looked a little shocked at first and then smiled. "Don't worry pretty boy, I'll get you better," she said softly and reached out to stroke his beautiful face. Seto whickered and back away lowering his head threatingly. He wasn't going to ever let her touch him after what she put him through. He would never trust another soul again until he was safely at home.

Rae ignored the stallion's reaction and raced away to get the veteranarian Dr. Vicky Kyjoui. She was busy studying a document on her desk. Vicky was the manager of the Reno Wild Horse Rescue Squad that saved the hurt horses from those evil rustlers. The horses were now going to stay at the Reno Wild Horse Center until they recovered, than they could be released or adopted. The black stallion, however, wasn't in a bad state, but was going to be hers after he was gentled enough. It turned out he needed help anyway.

"Dr. Kyjoui, the black stallion is hurt!" she said startling the vet who was concetrating hard.

"Oh, what? Oh yeah, Blackie, what's wrong, did he get hurt just now?" she asked looking at Rae, her wire framed glasses slightly falling off her nose.

"I don't know, but he's got blood on his hoof and he looks like he's in pain," said Rae. "Please help him!"

Vicky nodded and followed Rae to the stallion paddock, where the stallions were seperated from the other horses for safety. The stallion lifted his head when he saw the two humans approaching and he backed away slowly, careful not to put too much weight on his foot.

"Ooooh, that looks bad," Rae said looking at the gash in Seto's foot.

The vet took a small animal first aid kit with her and they slowly approached the hurt horse. Seto stood still holding out his front hoof, but far enough back so they couldn't directly touch it.

With a quick reflex, Vicky grabbed Seto's other foot. Seto's eyes widened as he lost his balance and fell on his side. Seto squealed in confusion and tryed to get up, but his hurt foot hindered him.

"Rae, get me the antiseptic spray and the bandages, please," Vicky said and lifted the hurt foot in her palm. She felt it in her hand, it felt swollen and slightly enflamed. It didn't look like a fresh injury because of the yellowish scab that formed around the rest of his fetlock. She took a pocket knife and scraped the entire scab off, she would need the fresh blood for analysis. Seto winced when she did this and attempted to get up.

Rae stood by the stallion's head and stroked his soft neck whispering soothing words. The vet applyed the spray with a quick squirt of a bottle. Seto groaned when the medicine stung his wound. He closed his eyes fighting the stinging pain. After a bit of examining and cleaning, Vicky wrapped some gauze and a firm cast around his fetlock. Seto was relieved when the process was over. When Vicky was finished, immediatly he left to his feet and ran across the paddock, bound for a fresh clump of grass. He was starving.

"Wow, he's quite a horse, it'll probably be easy to gentle him," said Vicky watching the black horse feast on the grass.

"Yeah, but he needs a name," said Rae, never taking her eyes off of her horse-to-be.

"How about just stick with Blackie?" asked Vicky "It's short and sweet!"

"No, Blackie would be something you would name a dog or a pony, but he's not short and sweet, he's powerful and beautiful, he needs something that means more than that," said Rae.

"I wasn't the best in English, so I can't think of really any good names that would fit him," said Vicky with a shrug.

"I was thinking Raven, but I already have a horse named Raven," said Rae "But I once read a story about a black unicorn named Zanzibar who this horse reminded me of," she said.

"Zanzibar, hmmm...that's a nice name," said Vicky "Isn't that some African country?" she asked.

Rae ignored the vet's question, although she was true, but instead tryed to picture the stallion in motion like she saw him before. _Zanzibar_...

It was perfect how the syllabals wrapped around every muscle and bone in the stallions body the way the "Z" vibrated against your tongue, like the way his peircing cry vibrated against your heart, and how the "R" melted in your mouth like an echo, like the way his flint hard hooves echoed on the canyon floors. She sighed, imagining what it would be like to be on top of his back and feel the smooth rythm of his stride. He would be a perfect three-day-eventer. He had the fluid motion of a dressage horse and the speed and endurance of a cross-country horse, and the agility of a stadium jumper.

The sound of car wheels broke her peaceful dreams and she saw her father's Honda pull up in the drive way. She groaned inwardly, she hated to leave the horses. She saw her father wave at her from the drivers seat.

"I gotta go," said Rae "Thank's for helping, Blackie, I mean Zanzibar," she saide and waved farewell to the veternarian. Vicky waved back and went back into her office.

Seto had watched Rae and Vicky the whole time an had listened to their conversation about his name. Seto's heart sank, a name meant that he would belong to someone. His chances of going back home were slim to none. Seto grazed more hestitantly until he was only toying nervously with the grass. He would have to fight hard to be free again, just like he did for Mokuba. Seto felt much stronger thinking about his little brother, but his tiny ray of hope was no match for the big challenge he would soon face.

_to be continued_...


	5. If Horses Could Cry

Seto endured another sleepless night in that lonely pasture. Although his stomach was full, his heart was empty. He shook his head and decided to gallop a while to work off his nervous energy. As the warm night air whispered past him, he never seemed to get weary, just more hyped and anxious. The other two stallions tryed to follow him, but he chased them away. He bucked and pranced trying to calm himself, but it was no use. Seto's nervous antics ceased and he trotted to the middle of the pasture and collapsed in the soft grass like an exhausted colt. He lay his head down nibbling at the blades of grass that tickled his velvety nose. He snorted and lay in a sternal recumbent and lifted his head, gazing at the endless sky. It was so beautiful out here, he had never seen a sky like this in Domino or anywhere else he had been. The moon was full in the indigo sky, with stars like diamonds sparkling around a single pearl. He sighed and wished that he could share it with his brother who was in Domino, worried sick about him. Yet all outside his workaholic world was beautiful, it was painful without Mokuba. If horses could cry, he would. Seto shook his head. No way! He was no sissy like that mutt Wheeler and that shrimpy Yugi. _He was no cry baby_! 

The light near the big barn lit the Reno Wild Horse Rescue Center. Seto pricked his ears towards the light but remained still. The silouette of a short figure emerged from the silent barn and walked out. The figure had black hair and seemed to be looking for someone. Mokuba! He had come to get him!

_Mokuba_! Seto whinnied and lept to his feet with joy he ran like lighting towards the figure until he reached the gate. The figure stopped at looked at him for a moment. Seto nickered and pawed the gate. _Release me, Mokuba and we can go home_!

The figure laughed and approached Seto, but it wasn't Mokuba. It was Rae, with her chocolate brown hair and her sky blue eyes beaming ay Seto.

"Hah, you like me already, Zanz!" Rae laughed.

A cold anger sank deep into Seto's stomach like a dagger. He blinked his eyes, surely he must have seen Mokuba somewhere. He felt so embarassed, for looking stupid and running up to her like a loyal hound dog. And who the heck is Zanz? He wondered.

"Why are you so glad to see me?" Rae asked and reached up to stroke Seto's neck. Seto snapped at her and backed away giving her a warning snort.

"Your such a big snake!" she snapped jokingly at him and watched him trot huffily out of sight, the twilight veiling his coal black hide.

Seto looked back at Rae who was staring at him silently in the moonlight. He heard her give a sigh and she turned back to the big barn and the sky became dim again. Seto hadn't realized how much he missed Mokuba. How could he have mistaken a girl for his very own brother? He nipped himself angrily. This was going to drive him crazy in about a week or so. He had to get out somehow. He was under so much stress he didn't realize how exhausted he was. He wanted to sleep, but was afraid to. He was afraid of bringing back terrible memories such as the childhood memories that flooded his brain every moment of his life. He had dreams like he had before, as if he were galloping into an endless canyon and Mokuba calling his name over and over again.

* * *

Rae woke up early that morning and stared at the ceiling with shadows of dawn dancing across it. She turned over on her side and looked at the black horse galloping in the picture. She blinked, swearing that she almost saw it move. 

Rae came back to reality and shook her head and looked at her clock in alarm.

"Whew, it's only 7:30, I better get down to the Rescue Center!" she jumped out of her bed and dressed quickly into some jeans and some comfortable riding boots, she would ride up to the Rescue Center instead of waking up her father to drive her down there.

Rae grabbed a doughnut from the pantry and raced out the door towards the small stables where ten Saddlebred horses were kept. She gobbled down her small breakfast and walked to Rex's stall. The chestnut looked curoislu at her and neighed a greeting to his rider. Rae smiled and patted Rex's neck as he searched her empty pockets for a treat.

"Guess again, boy," Rae said and took his bridle off the nearby bridle hook and put it over his head. Rex snorted a protest and backed away from Rae into the back of his stall.

Rae laughed and finished tacking and grooming her mount before riding out. Rae decided to ride in her English saddle this time. It felt so good not having the leather rub her legs and feeling more in control. She used her legs to squeeze Rex into a brisk trot towards the dusty riding trail. The gelding pricked his ears and began to trot proudly like a show horse. He lifted his feet high off the ground and arched his neck. Rae patted his neck, he was such a good horse, it didn't matter what had happened between them in the past.

The riding trail cut off into a small portion of asphalt road and then a bicycle trail. Rae had plotted this route last night on foot, this would lead directly to the back of the 25 acre mare pasture at the Rescue Center.

The trail led just as Rae had planned, and she saw a few mares grazing in the lush, knee deep grass. She startled them as she approached and they broke into a chorus of pounding hooves and excited neighs. She waved at them as they examined her from afar and headed up to the main barn. Her horse, Zanzibar, was in his own pasture looking out at the mountains. She felt sorry for him, she knew how much he missed the sage, and clear brooks, and fresh mountain air that he loved so much. Rex whinnied a greeting to the stallions and the other two answered. Zanzibar remained silent, yet he pricked his ears. When his eyes met Rae's, heimmediatly bolted in the opposite direction and fled into the back of the pasture.

"Come back!" Rae called out to Zanzibar. She sighed, her heart sank, there was no way he was ever going to trust her again. She turned Rex away from the pasture and rode to the main barn where Vicky was grooming a firey chestnut foal. The foal was in cross-ties and looked slightly nervous as Vicky went over him with the brush. She was murmuring to it softly and rubbing her hands over it's soft neck.

"Is he a mustang?" asked Rae as she dismounted Rex.

"Oh, hi, Rae...yes, he is a mustang foal, his name is Flame, he was adopted yesterday and today he's going to his new home. I was just handling him some so he can get used to being groomed and tied," she patted Flame's shoulder. The foal winced but then relaxed as he felt the soft brush bristles message his coat. He twitched an ear curiosly in Rex's direction.

"He's cute, what did his dam look like?" Rae asked trying to remember the different mares she had seen in the mare pasture.

"She was a mousy color, her name is Terra, I gave her that name personally because she's an earthen color," Vicky said.

"What about his sire? Was it Zanzibar?" Rae asked.

"No, actually none of Zanzibar's D.N.A. matches any of the foals here, I suppose maybe he was an outsider from a different herd," Vicky continued to groom the colt in silence. "His sire is that grulla stallion, Goku, oh and the bay one, he has most of the foals here, his name is Darigan,"

Rae felt confused. She wanted to know what Zanz's foals would look like so badly. It was too bad he didn't father one as beautiful as Flame. Rae tied Rex to a tying hook on the other side of the barn and gave him a flake of hay to snack on. Rae couldn't wait until it was time for Zanzibar to come home. She would prove to her parents that she was responsible and could handle him like she had done to Rex. She would show them when she won the Gold Medal at the Olympics that following year. Rae patted Rex on his neck and left him to eat while she went outside to the pasture to go see Zanz.

Rae sat on the fence and watched Goku bucking and rolling in the grass. The grulla stallion whinnied with joy and broke into a gallop. Rae wished Zanzibar would run again. He looked beautiful when he ran, with his silky mane and tail trailing behind him like black fairy dust. Rae watched the small forest carefully waiting for her horse to come out to greet her like he had done that night. She wondered what had happened between them that made him come to her. It had to be something magical. She sighed, maybe he was just settling in and needed to get used to people. He seemed like he'd be a very defiant and head strong horse. But Rae admired that about him.

Seto stood under the shade of the forest watching Rae sitting on the gate. He knew she was waiting for him to prance up to him like a big dog and lick her face. He wouldn't go near her if she had a whole bucket full of oats, which he wanted now. His stomach grummbled noisily and he felt slightly weak. He sniffed the ground and snatched a few blades of grass growing near the base of a tree. It wasn't as rich and dewy like the grass in the upper part of the pasture. Seto ate the entire stringy patch of grass and looked for more until he was near the fence again and then gave up all together. He sighed, wishing his foot wasn't hurt, wishing that he didn't come here at all to this barren Navada. Seto heard the cry of an eagle and he saw it's tawny brown wings glint against the sky as it soared over head. Seto whinnied to it, wishing he had tunred into an eagle instead of a weak, stupid horse.

Seto heard human footsteps heading towards his direction. Seto's body tensed, preparing the flee. Seto strained his delicate black ears, listening for a voice or call. He saw that girl named Rae again. She carried no halter as far as Seto could see and she had a bucket of grain in her hand. The sweet aroma of the grain made Seto's nostril's flutter with delight and his stomach gave a mighty grummble. Rae clicked her tongue and shook the grain bucket and at the same time held out a bright orange carrot. Seto licked his chops and stamped as Rae urged him to come closer to her. He wanted her to come to him.

Seto turned a tight circle and faced her again. He gave a long, high, horsey whistle and took one step forward and then quickly stepped back. Surprisingly, Rae put the blue bucket down and left him alone, she also dropped the orange carrot on the ground.

Seto waited until Rae was gone before diving into the bucket. He had never had a better breakfast. It was warm, soaked pellets, dribbled with mollases and honey and some sort of sweet herb. Seto ate slowly, savoring the taste, he thought he had ever tasted anything so good in his life. Not even the hot meals he ate at his mansion were this great. Seto nosed around the orange carrot. He disliked carrots.

After Seto had eaten the whole bucket he gave a whinny of satisfaction and shook his powerful black neck. He felt warm and fired up, and he felt like galloping a few strides, but he knew that he needed to wait a while or risk getting cramps. Seto playfully kicked the bucket over an nudged it into a mud puddle before trotting slowly out of the forest. He took a few mouthfuls of grass, it was fresh with dew.

As Seto grazed, the big grulla stallion, Goku approached him. The black stallion ignored him, he knew that he had taught Goku a lesson and he didn't need to worry about the grulla hurting him. But Goku wanted revenge. The grulla nipped Seto's shoulder. Seto winced but didn't move much. He gave Goku a warning snort and resumed feasting on the grass.

Goku bellowed and reared on his hindlegs, his hoof grazed Seto's left shoulder. Seto squealed in agony and made a threatening glare at the grulla. Seto's shoulder had a small gash and a stream of fresh blood trickled down it. Seto nursed it briefly before facing Goku. Seto snaked his head towards Goku showing his teeth and laying back his ear flat to his skull. Goku reared again. Seto screamed and rose on his hindlegs. His black body towered above Goku's. The black stallion lashed out with his hoof striking Goku on the chest. Goku groaned and swung around and tryed to kick Seto with his huge back hooves. Seto dodged them nimbly and struck Goku's barrel with his flint-hard hindfeet. The grulla stummbled and fell hard on the ground. Seto attacked the stallion with kicks and bites. Goku neighed in agony and got up torn and bleeding, huge bruises and gashes covered his hide as he loped away. Seto reared and bugled with triumph. He bucked and galloped across the green pasture, startling Darigan who was gazing at the mountains.

Seto stopped rejoicing when he felt his shoulder seer with pain. He paused to lick to wound. The blood had already reached his cannon bone. Seto nickered in pain and walked back into the middle of the pasture to nurse it. It was deep, although Goku's hoof had merely brushed it with his hoof. Seto sighed, knowing it would leave an ugly bruise and scar on his shoulder.

He noticed that Rae hadn't come trotting back up to the gate to see what he was doing. Seto threw his head up and grazed on the grass, his stomach was settled now and he had enough room for some of the tender grass. The son was rising high in the sky and making him sweat all over. Seto hated the heat. It was terrible on his injury. He stopped eating and stared at the sky and he inhaled the warm summer breeze. It would have been a good day for sun bathing if he was a human. He shook his body like a wet dog and lay in the grass. The grass still had some cool dew on it and it was wonderful to feel it on his hot belly. Seto lay on his side and then rolled over on his back. He shook the remaining grass that clung to the sweat of his glossy black coat and continued to eat again.

That's when he heard the roaring of a truck engine rattling up the gravel driveway...

_to be continued..._


	6. Jeff

Seto looked up but didn't move. The other horses neighed at the truck curiously. The truck was a big red Chevolet with what looked like a saddle in the back and it pulled a small horse trailor. Seto felt like running, remembering the last time he saw a horse trailor, but he continued to look at it. A young, brown skinned, teenager climbed out. He had long black hair tied back with a leather shoe string and was wearing a black leather jacket, bluejeans, and boots. He also had a worn looking cowboy hat and his face looked grim. To Seto he looked like a Navajo Indian. 

The boy led out of the trailor a very beautiful buckskin mare with silky black mane and tail and a rusty golden color. She pricked her ears and nickered softly as she saw the new horses and pastures around her. Seto neighed to her and approached the gate. She cocked her head as if to reconize Seto from somewhere and then followed her master into the barn. Seto's eyes followed the mare as she dissapeared into the barn. He snorted, the mare was very beautiful, more beautiful than any horse he had ever seen in his life. If Seto even knew what he looked like as a horse, he would think again, but it didn't really matter, he thought he was an ugly nag anyway.

Seto whistled trying to get the mare to answer him, but she gave no reply. He felt frustrated, he was dying to get a closer look at her. It was a strong instinct deep within him, something he had never felt before as a human being. Seto contiuned to neigh and whinny to summon the mare. He pranced and bucked and cantered in circles, it was no use, her owner would never go outside with the stallions, and certainly not after that Indian boy saw what Seto did to Goku.

Rae was cleaning Rex's bit off when she heard hooves clopping on the barn floor. A chorus of excited whinnies echoed down the hallway. Rae turned and saw a very rugged looking boy standing with a buckskin mare by his side. Rae felt embarrased and moved her fuzzy hair from out of her eyes. She couldn't help smiling at the boy and her heart gave a strange twist when she looked into his black Indian eyes.

"So, where's your stud?" he asked as if Rae had known him all his life and didn't need to introduce himself. Rae didn't care she sighed dreamily to herself and said in a slightly shaky voice.

"H-he's outside, umm, Sir,"

"Call me Jeff," he said and walked up to her. "Is there a place I can put my nag?" he asked pointing to his buckskin mare. Rae didn't know why he reffered to his mare as a nag but she smiled and pointed to an empty stall on the left-hand side of the barn. Jeff sighed and led his mare into the stall and shut her in, not bothering to remove her tack or anything.

Rae got up from where she was and led Jeff to the pasture where Zanzibar was kept. He looked stressed slightly, he was pacing back and forth and snorting. Sweat covered his neck and chest and his nostrils were flared. He saw Rae and stopped his anxious pacing and froze on the spot. Rae held her breath hoping he wouldn't run away again. But the stallion remained still he lowered his head and swished his tail at the pretend flies.

Seto pricked his ears at the boy and gave whistle of uncertainty and looked at Rae. Jeff climbed in through the railings. "So his name is Zanzibar?" asked Jeff. "He's a good lookin' stud, Vicky told me all about him," he said approaching the stallion. "Told me he was a rogue and an outsider," he laughed at this.

Rae was shocked to hear that answer. Zanzibar was no rogue horse, infact there was no evil bone in his body, he was just uncertain about the new humans and surroundings. He was only desperate for freedom like the other horses but they got over it once they realized that humans weren't dangerous. Zanzibar was just a little more difficult in settling in that was all. She hated that horses were reffered to as evil or mean on purpose, there was just a pain deep withen them that caused them to act badly. By Jeff's laugh it probably meant he understood Rae. He probably was a better horseman than she thought. He stood watching the curious horse. Zanzibar stamped his hoof and lowered his head, ears back, and he gave a warning snort.

Seto wanted to be left alone and if this cowboy gave him any trouble, he was going to teach him a lesson he would never forget, if only he had his deck with him. The boy advanced towards Seto and he began to feel more annoyed, he turned around and trotted away. He was not going to put up with this "horse whisperer" nonsense they were practicing on him. He heard foot steps following him. Seto turned around._ Leave me alone!_ He bellowed and turned to face the boy. The boy gave a laugh, "He sure is a_ mean_ stud," he continued laughing softly. White hot anger flared in Seto's heart and he reared on his hindlegs high off the ground. His hooves barely touched the ground and he broke into a gallop straight on into the boy. The Indian gasped and flung himself over the fence just in time before Seto could ram him into it.

"Sorry, he doesn't like men, he's just used to me seeing him, that's all," Rae said. Seto gave an annoyed snort. There she went again with her "one-man horse" rantings and how he was so attatched to her. Seto hated her more than anything, she chased him half way across the whole state, shoved him into a trailor, drugged him, and threw him in a fence and she actually expected that she would recieve love for that? Seto's idea about Rae had changed since he arrived at the rescue center, he now saw her as a traitor. Seto couldn't count how many stupid idiots tried to fool him and endanger his life because it seemed like fun, as if he were some stupid dog like Wheeler that didn't mind being shoved around like that. To name a few, Yugi Moto, Marik Ishtar, Maximillion Pegasus, Noa Kaiba, Gozuboro, and who could forget that queer, Amelda. Why did they torture him? The answer was easy, because they like to see a sucessful person like himself get put down, they treated him like he was cocky teenager that didn't know what he was doing. But those days were over now. Seto Kaiba was becoming a man. Well...after he stopped being a horse.

Jeff continued to talk to Rae, "He's got a temper, but I don't think it's anything to do with you or me," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Rae.

"I mean that your stud has guts, and that's something your sp'osed to look for in a stallion, unless you wanna geld him..."

"No! No, I want him to be stallion! And I'm going to prove to my parents that I can take care of a horse on my own, I proved it with Rex and Delilah, and Sid, and...," Rae was cut off.

"Who are they?" asked Jeff.

"My horses, well, Rex is, but the others are my parent's horses, they're Saddlebreds, we used to own a farm in Kentucky before we moved here and we are trying to start the same business over," Rae said.

"Well, you sure won't find any show dealers over here," said Jeff, "Nowadays all a guy wants is a good cow pony to keep his cattle stationary, as far as I know, the last thing you want around here is a flashy, gaited horse runnin' around their yard,"

"Why?" asked Rae, "At least someone does something fun around here, like showing or trail riding,"

"Nope, not a sole wants to waist time or money on a horse that's worth nothin' but his show record," Jeff said, "But I think ya'll find someway to make a livin' with your nice lookin' nags,"

Jeff's words hurt, but seemed to have a meaning rather than an insult. He was right, Rae hadn't seen any single show barns or ASHA affiliates since she came there. It was just the cows, the mustangs, and the prong horns. She nodded, but the part about flashy, gaited nags hurt down deep. Her whole live had been centered around them, besides her religion and her family. She felt as if her own family had been insulted. Rae tried to not take the words to heart to much, yet it stuck in like a cork in a wine bottle. She tried to shake it off for a moment and thought about a different subject.

"Well, I still want to prove mine and his potential, he's really friendly and lonesome inside, the other night he ran up to me for some reason as if he hadn't seen me in years. Then he ran away, but I think we have some kind of connection, like a hidden bond with each other, it just hasn't reveiled itself yet," Rae said.

"You could be true, but horses don't have mystical bonds like your thinking, they need trust first of all, animals don't follow the "love at first sight" concept, they trust what trusts them," Jeff said. Rae nodded but she didn't really understand what his words meant.

A whinny came from the barn. Seto pricked his ears and answered it. It was the beautiful mare he had seen. She had such a musical voice. He trotted up to the fence and neighed again but recieved no answer. He had asked her her name but it seemed she didn't hear him correctly. He hoped it hadn't sounded like an insult.

"By the way, who is your mare?" asked Rae as she and Jeff walked back to the barn to get ready to leave.

"She's Gypsy, I have no idea how she showed up, but she was an outsider like your stallion," said Jeff and he entered the mare's stall. She was a delicate creature with a golden coat and black legs, she had a dished head like Seto and looked a lot more Arabic than he did. She also had a silky black mane and a high set black tail. A black dorsal stripe ran down her back all the way to her tail. Her ears were like black rimmed funnels that caught every whisper of wind. She had handsome brown eyes and a velevety black muzzle. But was most peculiar about her was one her forehead was a tatoo of a golden eye. It was kinda hard to see, but it almost seemed to be glowing. Rae was going to ask about it but it was time for Jeff to leave.

"Well, I'll deal with 'im tommorow," Jeff said with a laugh and he quickly mounted his mare and trotted off, leaving the truck parked for the next day. Rae gave a dreamy sigh as she watched him ride off at a canter and dissapear. She looked at her watch. It was 10:00 already! She couldn't believe she had stayed there that long talking to Jeff. He was strange character, he was so distant sort of like Zanzibar was. As if he always had something more important on his mind than what he was saying to you, she could see it in his eyes and in the eyes of his horse. She stood for a while thinking about what the boy had said to her and decided to go get Rex and start riding back home. She heard booted footsteps run up the hallway startling several horses. It was Vicky.

"Rae, Rae!" she called.

"What is it Vicky!" Rae asked wildly, her heart pounding.

"It's Zanz, he tried to jump over the fence and he's hurt badly!"

_to be continued..._


	7. The Letter

Rae's stomach sank when the words got out of Vicky's mouth. Immediatly her legs dashed like lightning to the place where Zanzibar lay. He had an enormous splinter protruding from his bad leg and his barrel was covered with several cuts. A long gash was carved into his delicate dished head and it scraped the soft velvet skin off his nose, making him look like he had a severe nose bleed. Instinctively, Rae knelt down and put a hand on Zanz's trembling shoulder. His big brown eyes looked distressed, yet he was defiant, even in pain and he rose quickly to his feet. It was then Rae noticed another severe problem. The electric wire was tangled in Seto's hindleg. 

"Hurry, Vicky!" Rae said, although Vicky was already addressing the problem currently. The stallion did not let Rae touch him. When she tried, he snapped at her with his teeth. _Poor_ _thing_, Rae thought, _If only I could make him understand that I can help him_.

But Rae was wrong, Seto did not deny that she could help, it was that he didn't want her to help him. He just didn't like being babied like a sick puppy. Seto didn't need her comforting words to help him, he could take a little pain, he knew he could. After all it was his fault. Seto had wanted to follow Jeff and his mare. He had attempted to jump the fence, thinking he could clear it, but it proved to be too high and he got tangled in the wire and wooden railing and caused the entire thing to collapse, hence his cuts and gashes.

Vicky came back with an equine first aid kit. She first started by snatching Zanzibar by the halter and forcing his head down so she could examine the cuts. Seto tried to knock his head back or half rear, but Vicky had him held down firmly. Seto knew he had underestimated her strength and stopped fighting. After a quick examination, Vicky applied some strange liquid that reeked of ammonia onto his cut. Seto snorted in pain for the medicine burned like fire and then he relaxed as the pain ceased steadily. She did the same to other wounds until Seto was numb from the stinging and the strong smell of ammonia was making his eyes water. Then she did bandage what she could and injected Seto with a tentanus shot and some kind of antibiotic. "I'm going to have to stitch up the facial wound, but he's not going to be able to go out in his paddock again or else risk him rubbing them out," said Vicky, "There's no way I could bandage it, the way it's on his face."

Finally the hard part came, the wire. Vicky gingerly lifted Seto's back leg as if she were going to clean out his feet and then held it with one arm while she took some pliers and carefully removed the wire embedded in Seto's leg. As soon as she removed it, Seto struck out angrily, nearly missing Vicky's bent head. Then she stitched that also and bandaged it all the way up to his hock.

Rae's heart ached for Zanzibar, not because she knew the horse would be in pain for the next few days, but because she knew that he loved to run in his paddock. Being in his stall would only make things worse and he would become even more irritable.

Seto could not believe what he was hearing. They thought he was that _dumb_ to actually scratch out his stitches. Did they really think animals were that ignorant? Sure he was a horse, but it wasn't like he was retarded. Vicky swiftly clipped a lead rope onto Seto's halter and handed it to Rae.

"Alright, if you wanna learn to get used to you, you have to assert yourself," Vicky said patting Seto's shoulder. He twitched in irritance.

"Don't worry, I know how to handle this," said Rae.

"Well, let me just say something about wild horses, this handsome boy you have here was born without the least bit of experiance with humans, he doesn't know that you are a threat. He didn't grow up being hand-fed carrots and patted, he grew up where enemies are everywhere. Right now he sees you as a possible threat and forcing him to do something is going to make him even more nervous. You need to be calm, but let him know you are still in charge." Vicky said.

"I'll try," Rae said and clicked her tongue softly and gently tugged on the lead rope, signaling for Zan to walk forward.

Seto tossed his head and took one step forward on instinct. He was going to have to get used to being handled like he didn't know how to get from his bed to his night-stand. The black stallion walked beside Rae to the barn door and then halted. He hated doing this, he looked stupid. _Your a man, Seto Kaiba, think for yourself, you can still be a human_. A voice in his head said. Seto obeyed it and sat back firmly on his haunches and leaned hard against the lead rope.

"Come on, Boy," Rae said tugging harder against the rope and clicking her tongue again. "Walk on,"

Seto reared on his hindlegs and neighed shrilly. The rope nearly slipped out of Rae's hands, but she leaned back into it just as Zan had done. It was just like a game of tug-of-war. And Seto was winning. Rae felt her arms grow sore from holding Seto in. The stallion dug his front hooves deep into the ground, arched his back, and leapt in the air. That had done it. The rope slittered to the ground and he was off.

"No...," Rae breathed watching the fine cotton rope slip from her grasp. For a split second, Seto had a swelling pride in his heart as he gallantly raced away. He head high, he neighed mockingly at the girl and broke into a collected canter towards the exit and to home. But his moment of glory didn't last long and he felt his head snap back violently. Seto reared on his hindlegs nearly toppling over backwards. Vicky once again had proved her quick, I guess you could say, veteranarian-like, reflexes. The young equine doctor had snatched the rope just in time. Seto was outraged and he bucked in frustration.

"NO!" Vicky commanded firmly and jerked on Seto's halter violently, "No," Seto hated having his head jerked like that. It gave him a headache. The stallion was forced to calm down, still it didn't end his fury and once again refused to go into the barn.

Vicky gave the rope to Rae. "Now make him listen, he already knows what's expected of him, you just need to let him know that you want him to do it,"

Rae sighed, this time she put more strength in her hold and firmly commanded him to walk. Seto couldn't afford another annoying "head-knock" so he reluctantly followed the girl into the cool barn. He was breathing hard with both fatigue and fury. He couldn't stand this anymore. It would drive him crazy by next week. But why him? Why couldn't it have been that stupid Joey Wheeler or Tristan Taylor? I mean they both have a lot in common with horses anyway! Why did he have to go through this trauma? He didn't deserve it!

Seto was placed in a lonely stall, covered with a silky layer of cobwebs and the faint smell of mollasses. Rae locked the door and left the horse alone in his stall. Maybe it would let him think about what he had done. Angrily, Seto kicked the stall wall, causing an old plank of wood to crack and fall to the ground. He wanted to run and buck and get off this tension, but in here it was like a terrible prison. It even had bars on the door, although they didn't serve the same purpose as the bars on a cell door, they still gave Seto a sunken feeling in his heart. Seto let out a pleading whinny and struck at the stall door. _Get me out of here_! He demanded. _I'm Seto Kaiba, I don't deserve this_! The other horses snorted irritably as if to say, _So what, don't we all deserve this_?

_Stupid animals_, Seto thought bitterly, _They just don't understand, their just stupid, heartless_ _creatures, they deserve worse_. For the rest of the evening he lay down on the thin bedded ground. Even with very muscle and tendon crying out in agony, even stuck in a rural state far from home, even with his heart burning for revenge, he knew he still needed rest. After all, he had longed for it forever. And for the first time in Seto's entire life, he slept peacefully that night.

That evening, Rae Gilliland arrived at home on Rex. The gelding was getting restless and wanted to go faster towards home. "I know, your tired too, Boy," she said and patted Rex's chestnut neck. Rex shook his head and walked closer to the barn. Luckily the barn lights were on. Rae dismounted and led him down the path to the stables. Her mother was grooming a very ancient sorrel gelding.

"Hey, Mom," said Rae.

"Hey, Rae, how was it today with Vicky?" her Mom asked and patted the horse on the shoulder.

"Okay, Zan still has some quircks, but we'll get those fixed," Rae lied skipping Zan's fence jumping escapade and his violent temper.

"That's good," said Mrs. Gilliland, "And so are you, Hugo," she stroked the old gelding's shoulder. The old horse, Hugo, whose show name was Cry of Dolores, had been an excellent five-gaited show horse when he was younger and was nominated Best of the Breed the year before he retired to a saddle horse. Rae still thought the veteran champ still had plenty of spark. Hugo nuzzled Mrs. Gilliland's shoulder and in return recieved a scratch on the forehead. "Oh, yes, you recieved a package in the mail today," she said. "It's on your bed, I didn't open it yet."

Rae quickly untacked and brushed Rex for the night and she ran into the house and into her bedroom. "Gee, I hope it was that duel disk I ordered from Kaiba Corporation." she tore open the package into her dismay, it was not duel disk, but a picture frame. She flipped it over and revelied a picture of a two girls sitting astride well groomed horse. One was her and the other was her cousin, Rebekka Hawkins. A letter written on colorful stationary behind it.

It said:

_Dear Rae,_

_I know this is a short notice, but I've been missing you_

_and I wanted to see if your parents would let me come over for the rest of the summer,_

_yes, I had a good time at the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix if your wandering, also along with me,_

_my friends, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea wanted to come with me. They said they had never_

_been to Nevada before. I hope your folks don't mind, but if you can't let them come that's okay! If you do decide to let us come, then call me ASAP! See ya!_

_Your favorite cousin, Rebekka Hawkins._

_PS: I found that picture of us at the horse show. It turned out it was in my backpack the whole time!_

Rae reread the letter again to make sure that she had not missed anything. This would be great! Not only was her cousin going to see her, but some champion _duelists _too! She sat on her bed thinking about what they would do. Then Zanzibar popped into her mind and her heart sank. Her parents would think that they would be a set back from her work with him. But as she thought over it a bit she decided that it wouldn't really matter, maybe they would even help her! She ran down stairs, the letter in her hand to the living room where her mother was sitting, stroking their sleeping dachshund, Sho.

"Guess what Mom, Reb says that she wants to come over for the summer!" said Rae.

"Well, that's nice, tell her she can come," Mrs. Gilliland said with a yawn and continued stroking behind Sho's ears.

"But, there's more to it," Rae said, "She's bringing Yugi Moto and three other kids!"

"Yugi Moto, wasn't he that guy on that fishing show?" her mother asked drowsily.

"No, Mom, that was Takahiro Omori, this is a _duel monster_ champion!" said Rae.

"Well, I guess, you can, after all you need somebody around here to keep you company,"

"Don't worry, even after they leave I'll start school and I still have the horses,"

"Well, until then, it would do you some good to be around humans your age for once," Katrina Gilliland sighed deeply, "I'm totally sorry Rae,"

"Why Mom?"

"I guess moving way out here wasn't the best desicion," she said.

"I guess it's fun...," said Rae.

"Well, you know your father and I haven't gotten one single border or show rider or anyone, I'm afraid if we don't start making money soon, we're going to have to sell all the horses and try another business."

Rae's stomach grew cold. She hated to think about selling all the horses, it would be terrible without them. And if she meant all the horses she meant not only Rex and Hugo but Zanzibar too. She thought back to what Jeff said earlier about show horses. "What if we do something that doesn't involve horse showing, like some sort of club,"

"But honey, you know most of our profits center around show horses, we need to be more creative, or we can move back to Kentucky and let our horses drop dead with the flu like dominos." Katrina said.

"No something like a school or something, like a riding school, and maybe even have ap lace where Navadans can duel and ride," said Rae, "I'm sure lot's of kids don't know how to ride horses and like to duel, we can make it cheap and when the students see our pretty show horses, they'll want to start showing too!"

"That sound like a good idea, but we need to hire an instructor first and that will take forever,"

"No, you can be the instructor, you're a great rider Mom, and you taught me everything about horses I know,"

"I guess I'll try, but don't get too excited, I have to let your father 'okay it' first, and oh yeah, your handling the little duel thing,"

"Thanks a lot," said Rae and she gave her mother a tight sqeeze. She was glad they now had a foundation for their new business now and she had time to train Zanzibar. She imagined herself already, sitting on his back in a well polished saddle with his coat shimmering like satin. It was a long shot to be thinking about competing on him,but at least there was still time to dream about it while she could.


	8. Kids and Their Games

Bored. That was the only word that could describe Seto as he stared out of his stall door. The door already had several cracks and dents from him trying to kick it down all night. He felt flustered and tired. He needed to do something. There was nothing worth doing in this stupid place. Where were the entertainment centers with surround sound and the radios with blaring hip-hop? What did these losers do for fun around here? This place was absolutly pointless! 

Seto shook his head and kicked the stall wall for the second time, this time with his hurt leg. Like an electric shock, pain shot up his leg. Seto's nostril's flared and he bared his teeth, trying to let the pain ease away. Seto gently placed his foot back onto the straw, the cast was driving him crazy. It felt like a bowling ball was wrapped by a heavy metal chain around his leg. His other injuries were not as bad, they just made his body feel very stiff and confined. His face hurt the most. The piece of wood that had struck across his face had sliced through the delicate velvet on his nose and it made it painful for him to brush it against objects. Hooves clopping on wood aroused Seto's attention, maybe something exciting would happen today.

It was that Indian-ish, Mexican-ish boy that had showed up yesterday leading his mare. She looked at him curiously and snorted. Seto nickered back but wasn't going to try to chase her like he did last time. Rae had showed up again that day and she and the boy cleaned tack while his mare stood in the stall next to Seto's.

Seto sighed and began to gnaw on the wood. Remarkably, it was an excellent stress reliever and he continued to do it. The mare next to him tossed her head and whinnied to the stallion. Seto looked through the bars that seperated one stall from the other and gave her a look that definatly demanded "What do you want?"

_I wouldn't do that!_ She seemed to say looking at the wood Seto had carved with his teeth.

_So what?_ Seto asked twitching his ears.

The mare snorted. _At least you can call this place home and not be worried about being lost in the desert when you have a human family halfway across the world._

Seto cocked his head. Was this horse crazy? Or was she in the same situation as he? _Who are you?_ he asked.

_I'm Ishizu Ishtar_. The mare nickered. _But right now, I'm Gypsy. And who do you call yourself, Stud-Horse?_

Seto's heart sank. Now he was going to have to put up with her again. Hadn't she given him enough grief, preaching to him about his "past?" _I'm Zanzibar_, Seto lied.

_Ah, your arrogance cannot fool me, Seto Kaiba. I knew it was you all along. There's no mistaking your eyes, horse or not_. Ishizu said.

_Whatever!_ Seto said turning to face a different side of his stall. Yet Seto couldn't help feeling bad for being so rude to Ishizu. After all she was very beautiful...

Seto shook his head. She needed to build a bridge and get over it, for once. Why did females have to be so sensitive all the time. Still, Seto's guilt remained and he wanted to try to at least talk to her, after all they were in the same boat, it would do no good to be so narsissistic.

_So, how did you get here?_ asked Seto.

At first he was afraid she would not answer, but she seemed to understand that he was trying to compromise and said. _I don't remember. I know I came here for the new Egyptian exibit in the Reno Museaum, but in between then, I don't remember, it was all a huge, blurry, flash._

_Are there more like us?_

_Not that I know of._

_Then how do we change back, I want to be human again_!

_I don't know that either, nor why we became this way._

_There has to be some kind of answer to this. Average human beings don't get turned into horses randomly! I wanna go home and be out of this stupid barn and this stupid place and not be treated like an invalid anymore._

_Maybe we aren't all average human beings._

Seto was about to respond to her statement, but then allowed some time to think. Maybe she was right, maybe there was a reason why he was like this. He wasn't sure there was a sensible reason, her was just a rich champion duelist living in a big mansion. How ordinary was that?

Fast paced footsteps echoed down the barn aisle. Seto pricked his ears and saw Rae looking excited and carrying a halter. Seto tossed his head and walked to the back of his stall. What sort of stunt did he have to pull today? As she approached the stall she flug the halter over the small door, it clanged against the wood. Seto half-reared, pretending to be startled.

"Sorry, Zan, I'm just so thrilled," Rae said to the black stallion, "I had no idea that Vick got me a new halter just for you, look!"

Rae showed the halter to Seto, but he didn't move, instead he veiwed it comfortably from where he was standing at a safe distance. It was a very fine halter. It was made out of soft, blue nylon with a bronze nameplate that said **Zanzibar** engraved on it._ She's not going to make me wear that is she?_

"I can't wait for you to get better, than you can try it on, and when Reb' and her friends come over, they'll be amazed!" Rae laughed and trotted out of the barn.

_Reb'? Who the heck was that_? Seto wandered. It sounded probably like another horsey girl like Rae. Maybe her friends were just some kids with the same interest, sort of like Yugi's dorky gang of queer, snot-nosed, dueling monkeys. Now he was going to have to have a replica of them staring at him and drooling like some pre-schoolers at a feild trip to the zoo. Luckily they wouldn't have his painful cuts to poke when they got there. Hopefully they were more mature than that but he doubted it.

Ishizu looked at Seto, she too was wandering what Rae was talking about. Seto gave a snort, reminding her that he wanted to be left alone and so she did. Seto looked out of the bars of his stall for any short, black haired kids looking for his older brother but the barn remained nuetral of any of that except for a stable hand that occasionally would scoop up a pile of manure or shove hay in a horse's stall.

With his patience reaching its limit, Seto thrust his weight on his stall door, startling the mare beside him. The wooden boards and metal bars clattered as Seto's hooves collided with them. His hooves vibrated from the inpact and he tried again, a board flung off the stall door, leaving a gash in the wood.

_What are you doing_? Ishizu demanded with a curious squeal.

_What do you think_? asked Seto as the door suffered another collision with his fore feet._ I'm getting us out of here!_

Ishizu flicked her ears curiously when he mentioned the word "we." It was very ususual for Seto Kaiba to care for others needs, let alone his brother's. Seto shook his head and tried again. He ignored the stifiling pain his sore limbs.

"Zan! No!" a cry came from the end of the barn aisle. Rae rushed to the stallion's stall. "Easy boy! You don't want to hurt yourself again!"

Seto gave an impatient nicker and backed away violently from Rae, he snapped at her with his teeth and lay his ears back. His brown eyes gleamed with fury. His breath was labored with effort. Willy nilly Jeff had followed and whistled in admiration when he saw the plank of wood on the ground and the enormous gash in the stall door.

"You've got yourself a mean one, there, Miss Gilliland." he said.

"Oh, there's not an evil bone in his body! He's just...just...," Rae walked over to pat Zanzibar's neck, "Just...bored, that's all...just bored."

"Well, Victoria said, his wound won't take long, but five days to heal completely," said Jeff, "All he needs is some TLC...well that is...if he wants it." Jeff laughed. Seto's heart seared with annoyance at his laughter. It made him grit his teeth in anger. Rae didn't respond but looked dreamily at Jeff's black eyes as they lit up with amusement.

He's so...I can't describe it...he just has a way with horses that I've never seen in a guy from a place like this before.

"Anyway," Rae continued, "Well, that'll give me just enough time to get him ready for when Rebekka and her friends come, they'll be so amazed! And did you hear? she's bringing Yugi Moto!"

Seto nickered curiously. _Yugi?_

"Hm...Yugi Moto, isn't he that dude that was in the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix?" asked Jeff.

"Yep! I didn't know he was great friends with Reb!" said Rae.

"Well, ifI had known you liked Duel Monsters I would have asked you to duel earlier." said Jeff.

"You have a deck? I thought all Nevada had was cowboys and horse people!"

"Naw! There's some great duelists here, they even said Seto Kaiba had some headquarters over here, and where no one would have guessed!" said Jeff.

Seto froze at the mention of his name, he wanted to know more! Maybe someone knew he was missing. If Yugi was coming, he would be his one way ticket out of this dump! Yugi knew him. he would surely know it was him! He would make Rae understand and then set him free and he would go home again! But the two had gone on to other things.

"So, how about a duel on Wednesday, Rae?" asked Jeff.

Rae felt a little reluctant, it had been ages since she had dueled, she didn't even know if she still had her deck still.

"I'll think about it!" said Rae with a smile.

"Well, be ready, I may just surprise you." said Jeff his eyes twinkling as his competitive spirit was unleashed.

Seto rolled his eyes with annoyance. _Kids and their games! Why couldn't they grow up and take the game seriously for once? _Well, if it meant seeing Jeff or Rae's butt kicked...he had front row seats.


	9. Jeff vs Rae

It had been almost a whole week now and Seto's every limb was bursting with pent in energy. He had gnawed and struck and the wood on the stall, it looked as if a truck had tried to drive into it. The horse had an aggresive streak going on also. He was violent and wouldn't let anyone approach him, not even other animals. Seto had once bitten a chunk out of another stallion's shoulder and tried to break the door down. He had become a vicious animal unlike what he had promised to do. To be neutral and have some self control. 

Rae was getting worried over Seto's behavior and Dr. Kyjoui feared he was actually rabid.

"But, Vicky, he hasn't been around any other animals and he's so used to being out running. No wonder, he's so irritable!" Rae was trying to defend Zan when Vicky was explaining to her about the stallion's possible condition.

"You never know Rae, he could, he could not, but so far all his symptoms are pointing in that direction." Vicky said as she examined one of her books.

"Well, just give him a chance, until he get's better, I'm sure he'll be calmer once he's running and playing in the sunshine." Rae said.

"Well maybe you should try handling him some, it get's easy for injured animals to lose their trust in humans, especially sensitive one's like horses. You can try leading him on a longe line in the bull pen. I think it would even help in the healing process." said Vicky shutting her book.

Rae nodded. "That would be great only today's not a good day to do that."

"Why? Do you have to go somewhere later today?" asked Dr. Kyjoui.

"No, but I promised Jeff I'd duel him, I'd thought it would get my mind on something else for a change. I always feel so bored, there's like, no kids my age around here to hang out with and even if they're are, they live too far away." said Rae, "All my friends are back in Kentucky."

"Ah, so your in to duel monsters, isn't that a boy thing, shouldn't you be into shopping and music by now?" asked Vicky.

"My parents say the same thing, but it is fun, and it's cheap, unless you plan to order a genuine Kaiba Corperation Duel Disk, heh!" Rae said. "It just gives me something to think about, I notice girls that like all that stuff, get bored sometimes and then end up doing things they regret. I just don't want that to happen to me."

"Don't worry, you're such a good person, I don't think it will. You just gotta keep goin' at it and never give up."

"Your right, but, I do think Zan still needs a workout...maybe I'll postpone..."

"No, I'll work Zan for you, you do what you want, I'm not as busy today."

"Thank you Vicky!" Rae said. "I'll see ya!"

Rae and Rex galloped home and thankfully, her duel disk had been delivered. Her mother was standing in the drive way cleaning up the gravel path that was the entrance to their barn. She smiled and gave a wave at her daughter.

"Guess what, Rae, I had some people call wanting to know where to get riding lessons and I just thought that was wonderful and so I arranged some lessons for her daughter next month!" Katrina said.

"That's great, Mom, but I gotta get my deck!" Rae threw her mother Rex's reins and ran into the house. She got her deck out of a drawer on her nightstand. The case it was contained in was dusty for it had not been touched for several weeks. The only time she had taken it out before was when she was purchasing a new duel case. Hopefully, she still knew how to use them.

Rae came back to the Sanctuary on Rex and she was shaking from excitement, it was going to be so cool, dueling on the Nevadan desert where there was an exotic heat that stirred up the adrenaline in a duelist's spirit. A high, peircing neigh cried out from around the barn. Rae dismounted and turned Rex loose in one of the stalls before running around to see what was going on. In the bull pen, Vicky was longing Zan on a long rope. The horse was tossing his head and galloping around in fiery circles, his hooves pounding madley on the dust. Zan twisted and bucked and reared, avoiding the whip that Dr. Kyjoui was weilding. Vicky was laughing at Zan's antics. Rae smiled and watched them for a minute. It was surprising that aside from his wounds, the horse was alive and boisterous as ever.

Seto watched the whip the vet was holding warrily. The pain that had burned his cuts had faded as his energy burst fueled his amunition. Seto had never felt so glad to be outside in his life. The warmth of the sun bathed his neck and back and he ignored the enormous fences that kept him in the big circle was was running in. He gave an esatatic squeal and kicked up the red dust. A shower of hot, desert sand bathed his slim back limbs and satiny black coat. He blinked it from his eyes and reared high in the air. The longe line was the only thing that kept him from getting too rambuctious. He heard Rae laugh as she too got sprinkled with red dirt and he slowed with annoyance of her laughter. She thought he was being cute!

Seto neighed with outrage and charged Rae. The rope tightened as he lashed out with his teeth, although he would never touch her through the thick wooden boards. Rae looked amused and she backed away from the railings. Seto tossed his head and broke into brisk trot. He lifted his feet off the ground, his heels popping. His ears pinned to his finely sculpted skull and his teeth bared.

"Rae!" a voice called. Rae turned and saw Jeff his black bangs falling over his face. She saw he had a duel disk in hand. "Are you ready or not?"

"You bet!" she cried. Excitment filled Rae, she hadn't dueled in a long time. She sighed telling herself to relax and decided to start. Placing her deck in the duel disk. Jeff did the same and the duel began.

"You better be," he said, "Us so called "cowpokes" might surprise you. I'm not going to go easy on you!"

"I'm surely looking forwards to that!" Rae said and swallowed hard. "You go first." Seto paused, his ears pricked.

* * *

"First I summon Great Angus in attack mode!" said Jeff placing the card, Great Angus (1800/600) on the monster card zone. An enormous red beast hologram materialized in front of Rae. Its yellow eyes glared menacingly at her and its ear-splitting bellow shook the ground. It showed its long curved tusks that jutted out from its mouth full of sharp teeth and ropes of saliva hung from it. "And I'll place two cards face down!"

Rae sighed. Great Angus had 1800 Attack, hopefully she had a card that would finish it quickly and she had just the one. "I summon Slate Warrior in attack mode!" Then Slate Warrior (1900/400) appeared, towering above Great Angus. "Now attack with...,"

"Hold it right there!" Jeff said and flipped on of his face down cards. "I activate Reinforcements! Raising my Angus' attack by 500 making it 2300! But since its too late to call off your attack, your monster will fall! Now Great Angus! Attack, Berserk Slash!" Rae watched as her Slate Warrior dissapeared as Great Angus slashed his sharp fore-claws at the other monster.

**Life Points: Jeff-8000, Rae-7600**

"I'll lay one card face down before I end my turn." said Rae. "Your move," Rae looked at Jeff's beast. It seemed even more terrifying than before, then she remembered...

"Now I'll put one monster card face down and then I'll attack with Great Angus!" Jeff once again, commanded his beast to attack. Rae gasped as the red monster tore through her chest with it's claws.

**Life Points: Jeff-8000, Rae-6300**

Seto was caught up in the action. He knew that pump of adrenaline you got in the heat of a duel. He bucked but continued to watch. So far Jeff was winning. Rae's frustration was building but the secret was about to come out. "I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode!" An ugly blue dragon appeared in front of her, it's head looked deformed and it's wings were deprived of the leathery membran. It gave a screeching cry and took flight, whipping dust around them. "Now attack Great Angus!"

Seto pricked his ears curiously. What was she thinking! But the Great Angus did not strike back, instead it's image was blown in thousands of particles in front of Jeff's face. "What!" Jeff demanded. "My monster was much stronger than that mutilated thing!"

"Haven't you forgotten already?" asked Rae. "When you activated Reinforcements the effect only lasted for one turn only! Oh yeah and you remember my Slate Warrior? Thanks to his effect, your monster loses 500 attack and defense points!"

**Life Points: Jeff-7400, Rae-6300**

"You know, you Easterners are more clever than I thought." Jeff said. "You know, Rae, I thought all this time you just owned a few cards and a fancy duel disk to show off, but I see you have much more than what I expected. But I know one thing, ya'll never wipe me out!"

"Hey, I never said my turn was over," laughed Rae, "I still need to to destroy you're face down card. Luster Dragon! Attack with Luster Beam!" Luster Dragon attacked the face down card but it was not destroyed but the beam was blocked by spikes that emerged from a metallic colored beast.

"Ha! I told you, it'd take more than that to destroy my monsters!" Jeff said. Gear Gollum the Moving Fortress (800/2200) stood before Luster Dragon. Rae's heart sank as she took damage. He always had something up his sleeve to defend himself, why couldn't she be like that?

**Life Points: Jeff- 7400, Rae-6000**

"Okay, your turn." Rae sighed.

"I sacrafice Gear Gollum to tribute summon Ancient Gear Beast and equip it with Axe of Disspair!" Jeff had summoned Ancient Gear Beast (2000/2000) which looked like a mechanical Saber Toothed Tiger. Sadley Axe of Disspair raised it by 1000 making it 3000 Attack. Jeff commanded his beast to attack and it laid heavy damage on Rae. She felt so stupid already. Her life points were dropping like fawns in the spring time.

**Life Points: Jeff- 7400, Rae- 3000**

It was her turn again. She drew from her deck and almost discarded it. She looked closely at it's effect. "I lay one monster card face down and activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Perfect, it would give her her chance. Her hands were shaking with excitment.

"Okay...," Jeff said. He winked at Rae. "Don't give me that look, just have fun! It's no big deal." Rae rolled her eyes. He was just saying that to make her feel better. What fun was dueling when you were soarly loosing. Seto thought the same. Rae was definatly going to be beaten when her three turns were up.

"I guess I have no choice but to skip my turn, I've got nothin' to do now that I can't attack." Jeff shrugged and Rae's heart lept, now was her chance.

"I activate Aussa the Earth Charmer's Effect!" said Rae flipping her face down card.

"So?"

"So, when Aussa the Earth Charmer is flipped, I'm able to take control of one Earth monster on your side of the field and since your Ancient Gear Beast is an Earth monster, he goes to my side!" Rae said and the enormous machine monster joined on her side of the feild.

"Well, you know that I get him back after this turn you know." Jeff said.

"Who said I was using him for attacking you?" Rae asked.

"I sacrafice Ancient Gear Beast and Aussa the Earth Charmer to summon Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning!"(3000/2500). Rae's heart was swelling with triumph as she called on her attack. Jeff whistled in admiration as his Life Points dropped.

**Life Points: Jeff-4400, Rae-3000**

I'm going to win! I'm going to win! Rae cheered in her head. She wasn't stupid after all! Seto looked up at the Black Luster Soldier, he was frozen by awe. Vicky too looked interested and was watching from in between the railing.

"Okay, Rae, I'll put a monster in defense for my sake and a face-down card. I guess it's your move." Jeff said bowing his head.

Rae grinned and she made her next move. So far all she had was a hand full of spell cards that she didn't need at the moment. That was when she felt sorry for Jeff. He looked so dissapointed, she knew how you felt when you were on the brink of failure. "I'll go easy on you this turn and skip my attack phase." But she had made a wrong move. Rae's heart continued to cheer. I am so going to win!

"Finally!" Jeff said lifting his head as the Swords of Revealing Light faded from the feild. "I'm sorry, but this has been a really nice duel."

"What? Are you going to surrender?" asked Rae.

"Surrender? From such a great challenge? Never!" Jeff threw back his head, causing his jet black hair to dramtically fall behind his shoulders. "But look what card I just drew!" Jeff whistled as he showed Rae the Change of Heart card. Rae's heart went from soaring in the heavens to hurtling down to earth.

"I take control of your Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning and since you have no monsters to protect you! I'll attack directly!" said Jeff. The monster that had almost led Rae to victory was now going to defeat her. She could only sink to her knees as Jeff called upon his attack and her life points plummeted to 0.

**Life Points: Jeff:-4400, Rae-0**

_to be continued..._


	10. Things Are Changing Now

Rae was stunned for a momement as she watched her own monster execute his attack. She stood up brushing off, her jeans. Jeff looked pleased, his black Indian eyes shone. His long black hair blew in the wind and fell on his face.  
"That was...okay...," he said with a slight grin. 

"What?" asked Rae she couldn't believe he was complementing her dueling. In Kentucky, every boy she knew would either stomp off angrily or boasted that girls were always weak.

"You were okay." he repeated. "I guess if I hadn't got lucky at the last second you would have nailed me like a fence post." Jeff said.

Rae smiled heartily, but she knew he was only trying to make her feel better. Or did he really mean it? Seto could not believe a cowboy had pulled off something like that on a girl whose skills were highly conspiscuous. Seto could almost taste the feeling of denial and anger in Rae's heart. He bucked boredly, he wanted the stupid bandages off. He was healed now!

_Look at me_! He whinnied and pranced like a deer. _I'm fine now_! Seto tossed his head and broke into a canter with his head low, proving how fast he could run. vicky laughed so suddenly he nearly tripped. Instead he caught his balance with a half rear.

"Okay, I think we have the point now!" laughed Rae. "Are we going to take off the bandages today?"

"Well they are supposed to stay on for a week, but it looks like nothing is restricting his movement. My question is, is how it healed so darn fast!" she said.

"I told you a little sunshine would turn him on!" said Rae looking through the corral rails at Zan. Vicky sighed, but she was unsure about still allowing the Gillilands to keep him on her property. Zanzibar was dangerous. So dangerous that not even another horse could get near him. He wasn't just vicious, but strong and fast. Of course he wasn't possesed by demons or what not, but just so wild. Maybe, Jeffery could possibly help her this week. Now he was healed of his injuries that usually took an average horse several weeks to heal fully. He was also so clever. He could figure out things faster than most animals in general. He had the exact way of reasoning as a human being!

"Well, okay, but promise me that you'll let Jeff work with him or else, he's leaving the Sanctuary." she said winking at Rae.

"No problem!" said Rae and she ran off the join Jeff. She found him in one of the stalls softly brushing a curry comb over his mare's body. She pricked her ears and whinnied when she saw Rae.

"Your horse is friendly." said Rae, stroking Gypsy's brownish-gold coat. Rae picked up a body brush. "May I help?"

"Sure." he mummbled.

"Vicky said that you need to help me more with Zan or else he leaves, I thought tommorow would be a good time." Rae said. "Does that sound okay?" Jeff nodded and began cleaning Gypsy's hooves with a hoof pick. She protested violently which surprised Rae. The mare sank her teeth into Jeff's shoulder and knocked him to the ground.

"WELL THAT WAS STUPID OF YOU!" Jeff exclaimed angrily and jerked on her halter rope. He got up and shoved the mare to the back of the stall. Gypsy threw her head back, the whites of her eyes showing. "You know animals are the most stupidest things ever created! You try to help 'em and all they wanna do is act stupid!" Rae felt a little uneasy at his words. The mare just hated having her feet touched, that was all. Of course it was very odd that she'd react so violently.

"Does she do this everytime?" asked Rae.

"Yup." said Jeff calmly. "I've done everything and tried to find out what to make her stop. But she keeps doin' that. I've never seen an animal act like that, it's rediculous!"

"I've stopped caring now, I can't make her stop. Not even with join up!" said Jeff.

"What's join up?" asked Rae.

"Have you heard of the horse whisperer?" asked Jeff. Rae shook her head. "He's a dude who people say, metaphorically speaking, can talk to horses. In other words he can get them to trust him with his voice, join up's a techinique that helps reasure the horse, he can trust you."

"You think it'll work on Zan?" asked Rae.

"He'll probably kill you!" Jeff laughed. "I tell, ya' Rae, your stud has a bad temper."

Rae tried to brush back that comment but it stuck in her head. She was glad her parents weren't here everyday. She had to get him trust her so she could break him to a saddle. "Well, I'm sure you can help!" said Rae. "He'll be the tamest horse in Nevada before you can blink."

"I'm blinking right now...," said Jeff.

"You know what I mean!" Rae said rolling her eyes. "I'll see ya' tommorow." Rae walked off, her heart felt lighter than as it had been. Talking to Jeff made things seem so better. She had never felt that way before around a person before. Maybe it was just knowing that Jeff respected her that made her feel better about herself and even more confident. Rae decided to talk to Zan. Well, she would at least try to.

Seto watched Vicky exit the corral and leaving him inside. That duel had reminded him of home so much. He wanted to go back more than ever now. He still began to wonder about what Mokuba was thinking. Of course Mokuba had been left alone when Seto went on extended trips, but never had he been left without a warning. He worried about him. Poor boy, he was probably more angery than scared. Mokuba would never accept him back after what he had done. Now it would might be months even years before he came back and fully human. Maybe this horse transformation would only last for a few weeks and then he went back to his normal life and left this stupid ranch behind. He would also leave Nevada and go far away, where the terrible memories of being trapped and nearly killed were behind him. Seto watched the sun sink behind the rugged mountains. The red light reflected off the snowy white peaks making them look like an entire range of erupting volcanos. He had planned to build a winter home in those mountains that following year so he and his brother could go snow boarding, but he would have to hold that off for another year. Another dream ruined...

Soft footsteps crunched on the gravel. Seto flicked his ear and turned his head. It was Rae again, here to ruin everything as always. Rae stood still admiring the black stallion and the sunset image. She longed for a camera to catch his silky black coat reflect the blood red light of the sun and the majestic mountains that stood like a gigantic fortress. Zanzibar stood like a sculpture carved out of ebony and trimmed with scarlet. She walked closer to him. Seto took several steps back giving a warning glare and laying back his ears.

"It's okay, you don't have to be afraid of me." she whispered. Seto shook his head. So was this why that they were all about developing trust with Rae. Was because they thought he was afraid? "I know you've probably been through a lot but, I have too." Seto quietly stood still, his ears pricked in her direction letting her know he was focusing on her voice.

"Well, I used to live in Kentucky and had a huge farm of horses, some looked just like you." Rae said. "Then, there was an equine flu epidemic and we had to sell all our horses and move away. I miss my friends there, I remember we would go on trail rides and horse shows, and even duel together. But now, I hardly have any friends now. The one's back at home have forgotten about me and now all I have is Rex and you. I named Rex after a duelist, Rex Raptor to be exact, heh, I just thought, since horses can keep secrets, I'd tell this stuff to you. There are just some things about my life I don't trust to tell other people. I'm afriad of being laughed at. Anyway, I'd just thought you'd understand...," Rae gave a small grin and waved at him. Seto watched her mount Rex an ride away.

Seto watched her leave and then sighed deeply. He saw a different side of the girl that he had never expected. His heart was filled with sympathy for her. Something so foreign to his heart, it almost hurt. Like his soul was having a minor allergic reaction. But then the pain would ease away and he'd become immune to it and then experiance it more and more like all other people. And for the first time in his life, Seto Kaiba actually thought about someone else...

**Carson City, Nevada: The Corral Motel**

"Rebekka how many days until we get to Reno?" asked Tea Gardener setting her suitcase on a small bed.

"Grandpa says just another day's drive." Rebekka Hawkins said, "I can't wait, Tea! Cool, crisp air! The Rocky Mountains and best of all, Mustangs!"

"Are we gonna get cool cars?" asked Tea, raising her eye brows.

"No, Brainless!" Rebekka laughed. "Not Mustang _cars_, Mustang _horses_! And Sam even said she has one!"

"Oh right...horses...my bad...," Tea said.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Rebekka.

"Erm...last time I rode a horse I had a bad experiance...and I have this feeling too...," she said.

"What feeling?"

"The feeling that we are going to have a third-world experiance stuck in the mountains andtowns 50 miles apart." said Tea her voice raising slightly as if she was terribly troubled by it. Rebekka shrugged, her friend was probably just a little homesick. Of course they wouldn't be living in some dump! Why couldn't people just trust her these days? Everything was going to be fine.

"So what do we do now?" asked Tea plopping herself on her bed. "I'm so bored from that ride."

"I told the guys we'd meet in the lobby, then we could talk. They even have a big screen T.V. down there, a swimming pool, and an arcade. This place is huge for a cheap motel!" said Rebekka. "I guess that's just what the West is full of, surprises you never expect."

"_Yeah, like the fact I'm going to be stuck with a bunch of stupid horses all summer._..," Tea muttered under her breath.

"Huh? What did you say?" asked Rebekka.

"Oh...I...uh, think you're right, it is...quite wonderful after all!" Tea said, she hoped Rebekka had not heard what she had said. But she felt relieved when she gestured for them to go to the lobby.

The boys had beat them down there as they both had suspected. Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor had their eyes glued to the screen watching some sort of humorous sitcom. Yugi Moto, a spiky haired boy with multi-colored hair was deeply concentrating on the Portable Playstation he was holding in front of him. Rebekka looked curiously at the television show and then sat down in one of the plush chairs. She found to remote control and turned the television off. The two teenagers stared mournfully at the black screen before their eyes.

"We are supposed to_ talk_...," Rebekka said, tossing the remote control in the air and catching it again.

"Come on Reb! It was getting to the good part!" Joey begged.

"Nope!" Rebekka said. "We are on a vacation together and I don't wanna waste it watching...Old Yasha?"

"It's a spoof of InuYasha and Old Yeller!" said Tristan. "And tonight was the director's cut Thai version of episode 120!" Rebekka rolled her eyes and hid the remote under her chair cushion. The lobby was silent except for the sound-effects of Yugi's game system.

"Um...Yugi...," Rebekka said, giving Yugi a warning glance. Reluctantly, he turned it off and placed it on the ground. "So...?"

"Well..." Rebekka began until Tea cut her off.

"What are we going to be doing exactly when we get to Reno...or whatever...?" asked Tea.

"Well, when we get there, we will be staying at the Gilliland's house. Don't worry they are pretty civilized (she winked at Tea) and then the next day, she'll tour us around the city and then she said she'll get us a few horses and we can ride and hike and just explore. I thought it would be cool if you guys came, after all, I did mention she's a duelist, right?"

"Duelist?" asked Yugi and Joey in unison, they seemed a bit more interested.

"Yep, she's very good infact. Her name is Rae, she's my cousin. I haven't seen her in ages, I thought maybe a chance to hang out would make her summer better! After all, she doesn't have many friends, she just moved there from Kentucky." said Rebekka. "She told me she had a new horse, he's a black stallion, a mustang, and his name is Zanzibar after that island in Africa!"

"So that's it? Is there more?" asked Tristan.

"There is a town nearby, they have a mall and restruants, and gameshops, and tackshops. And every Saturday night they have rodeos!" she said.

"Sounds exiting." said Yugi. "But I want to ask something else."

"What?"

"Can I play my game now?" he asked.

"Whatever." Rebekka shrugged. She reached in the cushion and retrieved the remote control. She turned on the T.V. and began flipping through the channels. She came to the News channel and stopped. She loved torturing Joey and Tristan.

"We have a special announcement to make of the sudden dissapearance of a teenage boy in Nevada, Seto Kaiba." the women on the television said. Everyone's eyes were locked on the screen. "Just four days ago, the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, was reported missing. His entire Navadan headquarters in Reno were inspected thoroughly and there was no trace of him at all. Kaiba is 17 years old, 6 feet tall, and weighs 132 pounds. He was also wearing a black T-shirt and jeans on the day of his dissaperance. If you find him please call the police."

"Kaiba's missing?" asked Joey. "Doesn't he have those fancy helicopters that can locate him or something?"

"Shut up, Joey, there's more!" snapped Tea.

"Following this news is the escape of Caleb Howard, the brother of former dueling champion, Bandit Keith Howard. Howard was arrested for the illegal capture of 150 wild horses and for stealing 18 cattle and 42 goats from a local sale barn earlier this month. Last night, he escaped shortly after...," her voice faded as Rebekka pressed down on the "Off" button.

"Why'd you do that for!" demanded Joey.

"Wow Joey wanting to watch the News, that's a first!" Tristan said.

"Hey, I didn't know that Bandit Keith had a brother! Sounds more like a great duel in the making, huh, Yugi?" asked Joey. It seemed that the strange dissaperance of Kaiba was forgotten...

"Just because his brother duels doesn't mean he does. You heard her, he stole horses, cattle, and, goats, doesn't sound like a duelist to me. More like an average guy with the wrong motivations, that all." said Yugi.

The blond boy shrugged and looked outside, it had started to rain again. Lightning branched out across the dark sky, illuminating the earth. He hadn't dueled for a long time and he was missing the excitment he used to have. Everyone else seemed so...bored of it now. Like it was just a game they just played when they were young. Joey sighed. _I guess things are just changing now, but if it all comes to an end, I'm sure gonna miss the fun of it all, that's for sure..._


	11. A Lame First Impression

**Chapters 1-10 Summary:** _So far...Seto Kaiba has been mysteriously transformed into a horse and adopted by Rae Gilliland, a former show rider and a novice duelist. He was sent to a Rescue Center for wild horses in Reno, Nevada, (also called the Sanctuary) and given the name Zanzibar. While there, Seto runs into Ishizu who also became a horse, and now is owned by Jeffery one of Dr. Victoria Kyjoui's assistant trainers. Meanwhile, Rebekka Hawkins, Rae's cousin, has invited Yugi, Joey, and the others to the Gilliland's new show horse ranch._

_(Sorry if I have misspelled "Nevada" at anytime during this fic, I will try to prevent more mistakes)_

Seto was shoved back in his stall again. That vet figured he'd better stay in there one more day before he was allowed back in with Goku and Darigan. He was surprised that ugly nag had survived. It proved only one thing: the mind over-powered the body. That's how it always had been. In Seto's case, both his mind and body were powerful weapons, that's why he was so superior to those lazy dogs Wheeler and Tristan Taylor. Just their names disgusted him. He stamped his foot and a soft nicker startled him. He turned around, he had completely forgotten Ishizu was there.

The little mare had her ears pricked to the side and her big, brown doe eyes were full of concern. _What's your problem?_ She asked. Seto merely snorted and turned away from her. _What's wrong? Miss your girl friend?_

Seto squealed in rage. He could not believe she would say that. He walked up to her, ears back and his teeth bared threateningly. _I wouldn't like that girl if my life depended on it!_ _She betrayed me, she wrecked my life. But I guess it doesn't bother you, Miss Ishtar, after all, it doesn't matter to you if my life is ruined!_

_Your a typical teenager Young Kaiba_. she said with her soft browneyes. Seto shook his head in confusion. He was supposed to be acting like a man! Was she saying he was immature? The nerve of her! _All you care about is yourself and that kind of attitude is very childish. You think you can solve your own challenges on your own, but you can't!_ Seto contiued to glare at her, he pawed the ground. _Grow up, Seto Kaiba! Grow up for a change!_

Seto sighed and turned away from her. He didn't need to worry about what she said. She was a woman how did she know? Even if she were older than him, she still didn't know what she was talking about. But her words did sort of lay a shock on him and begin to sink in. Was it true? Was it true that he was acting like a silly little boy? No, no. She was just jealous, jealous like all the others were. Jealous of his supiriority. She couldn't be right...could she...?

**The Gilliland House the following day...**

"Hey, Yugi, could you get my deck out of my backpack?" asked Joey. The gang had made it to the Gilliland house and Joey and Yugi were busy unpacking their belongings.

"Here," Yugi said handing his friend the deck box that held Joey's cards. "Why did you bring them, I'm not going to be able to duel you."

"Of course you are!"

"Huh?"

"Check the bag." Joey said. Yugi dug in the bag and sure enough his own deck was there.

"JOEY, YOU RETARD! WHY DID YOU BRING MY CARDS?" demanded Yugi angrily.

"What's wrong Yugi? I thought I was doing you a favor! Now we can still duel if we get bored." said Joey smiling.

"But Joey, I promised 'the other me' I wouldn't play anymore games this summer. Can't we give Duel Monsters a rest?" asked Yugi. He placed his deck back in Joey's bag. Joey couldn't believe what he just heard. Yugi wanted to quit duel monsters. He had never known Yugi to do something like that! He was speechless for a moment.

"Okay...suit yourself...I'll find something else to do." said Joey shrugging and walking outside. Tea and Rebekka were outside near the barn talking to a girl. At first Joey was going to interrupt and bribe them into playing duel monsters until he saw the girl. She was very cute and looked almost like Mokuba except she was little taller and her hair was brown and was neater (unlike Mokuba's unruly black hair). She was kinda cute...

He was about to introduce himself when Tea said. "Oh, Rae, have you met Joey Wheeler yet?" Rae looked closely at him.

"Oh! I remember you..." she said.

Joey smiled trimphantly. She probably remembered his victory at Duelist Kingdom or Battle City or...

"You were the kid in the doggy suit on one of Duke's Dungeon Dice Monsters commercials!" Rae said. "I knew you had the same blonde bangs." Joey staggered backwards. So much for the show-offy greeting. Rebekka sniggered.

"Uh...anyway...do you like...erm...Duel Monsters?" Joey asked, he grinned, letting the embarrasing moment slide by.

"Yep, I used to duel in the Kentucky Junior Leagues, I'm turning 15 in September and then I'll be able to duel in the big leagues...heh." Rae said. "But, I'm not as good as dueling as I am at horseback riding, wanna check out our horses?"

"Uh...sure...," Joey said and he and Rebekka followed Rae to the enormous barn. Tea stayed behind pretending to be interested in something on the white fence.

"Hey, Tea aren't you coming?" asked Rebekka.

"That's okay, I have too...um...finish unpacking...yeah...finish unpacking and I'll catch up with you guys later!" Tea walking off quickly towards the house.

_What's her problem?_ Rae wandered and she led the two others into the stable. _What? Is she afraid of horses...that big chicken._

"So, erm, these are the stables, duh. We keep Saddlebreds and Saddlebred crosses. This is Rex, he's mine." Rae reached over and patted Rex's chestnut neck. The gelding whinnied shrilly, greeting the new-comers, with his ears pricked and his nostrils flared as he searched their pcokets. "He likes people, he's very friendly. But it took a lot of training to get him so tame. Saddlebreds can be very skittish."

Joey watched in horror as the horse began nibbling on his hair and clothing. "What is he doing...?" he asked.

"Heh, heh, he thinks you have treats." Rae laughed.

"Is there some way you can tell him to stop?" asked Joey, he tried to shoo away the horse with his hands.

"Sorry," Rae said, "Here give this to him." Rae handed Joey a small orange carrot. Joey looked at the orange vegetable for a moment and then showed it to Rex. The chestnut gelding nickered in delight and scooped the carrot out of his hand. He crunched noisily on the treat. Before the horse began looking for more, Rae showed them to the others.

"That's Hugo, my mom's old pleasure horse, Zatusuke, he won the national championship two years in a row, Tieko, she used to be a brood mare, Ahrzu, she's part Thoroughbred, and Reiku, one of Teiko's yearling colts." There were many more, but Rae wanted to just introduce the main ones. "Oh, yeah, my mom said it's okay for us to start a riding school and a duel club at our stables. It'll raise money for our..."

"But where's Zanzibar?" Rebekka blurted.

"Oh...Zan...he's...he's at the nearby rescue center, erm...why?" asked Rae. She hope her cousin wouldn't bring that up. Zanzibar was still ornery from the past week. Could he handle a lot of people?

"Oooh! I wanna see him! I've been dying to see him since I got here! Have you ridden him yet? How tall is he? Is he really that beautiful? Is he really wild?" Rebekka asked. Rae wanted to yell that she didn't have time to look at him. She had completely forgotten how annoying Rebekka was, and she had stubborness to back it up. Rae didn't know what to do, but she shrugged.

"Okay, I'll saddle the horses and we can ride down there. It's just a short ride away." said Rae.

"I don't think the others will mind, I think Yugi's ridden a horse before...but I don't care! I just wanna see him!" said Rebekka.

**After rounding everyone up...**

"Joey, your holding your reins wrong." said Yugi, trying to correct his friend. Joey Wheeler was sitting on a female roan mare named Love Bug. He was having major problems. It wasn't that new to him, he just didn't like doing it.

"Grr..," Joey tried to fix his reins but ended up pulling to tightly. Love Bug's head shot up and she came to a complete stop. "Help Yugi!" Joey groaned. Yugi rolled his eyes. It was the fifth time Joey had messed up. He rode up to Love Bug on his palomino gelding, Thunder. Thunder was blind in one eye so Rae had trusted Yugi to ride him carefully. It turned out he could ride better than any of the others. Tea, Tristan, and Rebekka's grandfather had gone off in the car to tour the city.

"Need help?" Rae laughed and turned Rex around. Joey refused to be helped at all.

"Just let me figure it out!" Joey said.

Yugi sighed. "Everytime you ask for help, when I'm about to give you advice, you always say that!" He didn't Joey would ever get it right.

"How about I 'pony' you?" asked Rae. "We can make it there faster."

"No way! I can figure this out on my own! It's not like a...whups...!" Joey had let go for a split second, lost his balance, and slipped right off Love Bug's back. The mare side-stepped and then looked down at her fallen rider.

"I told you it would save time!" Rae said looking down at Joey who was sprawled out on the ground.

"Don't worry, Rae, I got it..," Joey took Love Bug's reins and tried to get on again. He swung heavily in the saddle almost slipping off the other side. Love Bug grunted and stepped forward with her head raised in her ears back in irritance. Yugi's ribs were snapping from trying to contain his laughter. Rebekka was having a giggle fit, almost falling off her little pony herself. Joey finally got positioned again and then started again, slowly. Yugi stayed beside him. "Go on Yugi, I can deal with her now."

"Joey, you can hardly ride! Why did you tell Rae you wanted to go?" Yugi asked. It was clearly obvious Joey could not ride. He did not have the required skill or posture and he handled his horse roughly by using her as a leaning post when he was about to lose his balance. But if he thought he could handle it, he would let him handle it. Yugi nudged Thunder ahead to catch up with Rae, he just hoped Joey could make it with out falling again.

It was a few minutes before they finally reached the barn. A shrill neigh peirced the silence like an arrow from hell._ Zan_. Rae swallowed. He was definatly in a bad mood today. Rae told them all to dismount and showed them a place outside the barn where they could put their horses while they visited. Jeff was there already he was using his horse's back as a lounge chair. He looked like he was waiting for her. "Well, I see you brought some friends." he said jumping off Gypsy's back.

"Oh, hi, Jeff." Rae said. "This is my cousin, Rebekka Hawkins and these are her two friends, Joey Wheeler and Yugi Motou." Jeff raised his eyebrow.

"The Yugi? The dude who beat that guy named Kaiba?" asked Jeff. "It's good to see you around here. Welcome to Nevada!" He held out his hand. Yugi returned the greeting reluctantly. Something inside him made him suspicious about this Jeff guy. "Your demon horse is in the back, I'll try to see if I can drag him out for you."

Seto slammed his whole body against the stall door, his own way of demanding his release. He wished to be able to talk so he could give these stupid grooms a piece of his mind. If he owned this stable he would make sure that the staff weren't half-witted dunces. He reared up and landed hard, slamming his hooves into the ground. He had not eaten for two days and he was getting irritable and snappish. His water bucket was nearly empty and all that was left was just backwash. He heard boots coming down the stall. There was that stupid boy again, holding a halter like he was going to do some kind of rodeo trick. Seto arched his neck and bellowed a sharp threat.

"Easy, Boy!" said Jeff walking up to Seto's stall.

_Just get me out of here you cattle roping dweeb!_ Seto stamped his hoof impatiently. He allowed the halter to be put on his head, but he wouldn't give in just yet. It was his turn to lead. He shoved the boy aside and walked out of the barn while. Jeff held the rope tightly but let the stallion go ahead. If he let the horse do what he wanted, it would realize how stupid it was and turn to him for help. He saw Rae waiting outside, but she wasn't alone like usual. Beside her was that kid Rebekka and... Wheeler and Yugi? He stood still twitching his ears. _Was it really them? Why were they in a placelike this?_

"Oh, Rae! He's gorgeous!" Rebekka said in awe. Seto shook his head. _Did she just say he was beautiful? Was he really that astonishing?_

"He's tall!" said Yugi.

"I'll say," said Joey, "Ya' think he's a Thoroughbred?"

"No, Joey! He's a mustang! Why else would he be from the wild?" asked Rebekka.

"I've never heard of mustangs this tall!" said Yugi. "I think he's almost 17 hands!"

"Since when did you become a horse expert?" Joey asked.

"Are you sure he was truely wild?" asked Yugi dismissing Joey's lame question.

"Dr. Kyjoui says probably has a little draft blood in him, but it can't be that because he has the physique of an Arabian." said Rae.

"Too many big words!" Joey whined.

"The biggest word she said was 'physique'!" said Rebekka.

Seto was listening to the conversation carefully. Now was his chance, while Yugi was here he could possibly tell him that he was Seto Kaiba and he'd take him to Mokuba. Seto stomped his hoof trying to get Yugi's attention. He shook his mane and nickered low. _It's me! Kaiba! I'm here, in a horse's body! You have to believe me! Please!_ But it was useless. Yugi only stared at Seto admiring his well built frame.

"That's new, he's never done that before." said Rae patting Zan's neck. "Take it easy boy." Rae had taken the rope away from Jeff. Seto shoved her hand away.

"He must sense that I'm a really good duelist! Haha!" said Joey.

Seto froze and glared at the blonde boy. He had forgotten how much of an idiot Wheeler was. That stupid smile, that stupid laugh, and that stupid hair. White hot anger boiled in Seto's heart and slowly began to boil over little by little. Joey was just lucky Rae had a firm grip on the lead rope. Seto's body tensed and he pinned his ears back.

"Did I ever tell you I almost beat Kaiba too?" said Joey. Jeff snorted. I just thought he was like that because he was blonde, now I'm starting to think he's really insane! "He just got lucky, but I could've kicked his butt, you shoulda seen me!"

"Here we go again...," said Yugi. Rebekka rolled her eyes. This was the fifth time they heard that story. And it happened too long ago for them to possibly remember.

"You know, they say not to underestimate Kaiba, but he's just a rich computer geek that can duel really good, that's all." said Joey. "Nothing to be scared of." He began laughing, not realizing what he was saying or who he was saying it to.

That was it! He had had enough. Seto neighed harshly and lunged forward, striking Joey in the chest at full force backed by rage. Joey was knocked clean off his feet and landed on the sharp gravel of the pavement. Rebekka screamed and clung onto Yugi. Seto reared high, and the rope slipped from Rae's hands. The black stallion bellowed and charged forward.

_to be continued..._


	12. Peices of Paper

Ruining the Moment of Suspense! by: Stallions and Dragons 

Incase some of you have been wandering about Rae's name I just wanted to get this straight. "Rae" is pronounced "Ray" (Like in "ray gun").

Just thought I'd let ya' know!

* * *

The wind was knocked out of Joey when the flint hard hoof struck at his chest. It wasn't until he hit the ground that a sharp, searing pain shot into his chest. He gasped inhaling dust and saliva. It hurt so bad he could barely breath. It felt as if a weight lifter had swung a metal baseball bat at his heart. He saw the black stallion standing above him, his black eyes glaring menacingly at him. For a moment Joey was certain that it was the end, the horse would kill him. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth ready for his hooves to collide with his skull.

"No!" Yugi cried and using his entire body weight, he lept and slammed hard into Seto's shoulder. Seto gave a startled grunt and fiercly lept backwards, stepping directly on Rae's foot with his back foot. Jeff had grabbed Seto's lead rope and violently jerked it around. Seto's neck was twisted painfully, forcing him to turn around. He stopped fighting. It was over now, everything was settled. Seto looked at Joey angrily, he showed the whites of his eyes, which were blood shot from sleepless nights. His body felt shakey and weak, he had pushed himself to hard, and the lack of food for the past days, was taking it's toll on Seto's exhausted body. He lowered his head. Saliva had foamed around his mouth and sweat covered his neck and legs. He had been longing to do some pay back like that for a long time, Joey Wheeler deserved it.

"Joey! Are you all right?" asked Rae, kneeling down. The blonde boy seemed okay, luckily he didn't recieve a head injury. Rebekka sighed with relief.

"I'm fine." He said. Joey tried to sit up, his chest seared with pain. Slowly he got to his feet.

"It's going to leave a bruise for a while." Rae said. "But your a guy, you'll get over it, right?" she smiled at him. Joey nodded and dusted off the red dirt off his white shirt.

"Your going to have to learn to control that thing." Joey laughed. "Next time, I probably won't be so lucky." Rae's was so guilty she felt as if someone had stabbed her in the gut. She shivered thinking about the catastrophy that would have gotten Joseph seriosly injured if Jeffery and Yugi had not been there.

"I'm sooo SORRY!" Rae said. "I guess he wasn't ready to, you know, meet other people. He's not even accustomed to seeing me...," Maybe Mom and Dad were right, maybe I'm not ready for a wild horse like I thought I was.

"It's okay, Rae. I'm fine, it doesn't hurt anymore!" Joey lied. His mouth was saying "It doesn't hurt." But his mind was saying "OH GOD IT HURTS LIKE CRAP!"

"Jee, Joey, you must have a chest of steel. Man if I got hit with a horse's hoof I would still be on the ground." Rae said with false admiration. She could see the agony sketched across Joey's face. He was a funny guy, trying to act like nothing bothered him. She kinda liked Joey Wheeler despite the fact that he was a moran. Joey grinned weakly, he was gritting his teeth trying to ignore the pain.

"Are you going to be able to ride back home Jo?" asked Yugi.

"Sure...," Joey swallowed. _Oh man, I'm going to be sore tommorow_.

_Idiot._ Seto snorted. _He's being a complete idiot. If it weren't for Yugi interfering and that weird kid, I would've killed him!_

"I'm sorry to say this, Your Majesty, but you are a very stupid horse," said Jefferey. Seto bit him on the shoulder. Jeffery ignored him. "It's not my fault you were born that way."

From them on Seto Kaiba hated him. No matter how he tried to so called "connect" with Seto he would still hate him. Hate every bone in his body, every hair on his head, and every breath he took. That was how Seto hated people. And when Seto hated someone it was true deep down hate and nothing could ever change it. He had always been that way and always will, he often claimed. When Seto Kaiba hated someone, he hated that person forever.

"I th-think we've had enough with Zan today...," Rae said. "I'm so sorry guys, I just didn't...,"

"It's okay, Rae!" Joey said. "We aren't mad at all, so don't feel all guilty." Rae sighed, relieved that they hadn't taken it hard. But deep inside she felt numb with shame.

* * *

Seto was sent out to the stallion paddock for the rest of the day. He felt sick with anger. He refused to eat or sleep that night. He felt so depressed and weary. Seto lay down in a patch of grass. The stars once again illuminated the indigo heavens. His black coat reflected the glow of the full moon and gave him a mystical apperance. He felt like a wounded animal left to die. He missed home, he missed having thumbs, and he missed Mokuba's loving smile...

There was the sound of leaves rustling. It was faint, but enough to arouse Seto's suspision. The black horse rose to his feet and followed the rustling noise. Seto walked into the farthest section of the paddock where the forest began. In the twilight he saw an old woman dressed in garments made of deerskin she was singing softly in a language that Seto could not identify. It seemed as though she was summoning him. Seto nickered softly. "Ah, Seto! I knew you'd show up!" the old woman said. She had the complexion of an Indian squall woman. Her cheerful voice startled Seto. "Now, now don't get all excited, I know what you're thinking!" She walked up to Seto and grabbed his muzzle. "Oh, my I expected you to be a little more dull looking, but your...gorgeous!" She laughed softly.

"Let go of me!" Seto said and backed away from her grasp. "I'm...I'm...I'm talking? In English?" Seto shook his head.

"I'm afraid so." the woman said.

"That means I can tell Yugi, than I'm me, right?" Seto asked.

"Wrong." the woman said. "You can't tell anyone about this."

"Why?" Seto demanded.

"Because, if they ever found out you were Seto Kaiba, you will be like this forever." said the woman. "I made you this way Seto Kaiba, I put that artifact on your office desk. If you had not been so rude as to throw it outside, than maybe you would have understood it's purpose better. It seems you were fortunate enough to pass the test."

"You mean this is just a test?" asked Seto. "I'm a horse because of that stupid peice of junk?"

"Exactly and you won't be able to change back until you unlock the secret of that 'stupid peice of junk'." said the woman.

"And how can I do that?" Seto asked.

"Oh, simple, a little trip to Egypt." the woman shrugged. "No big deal."

Seto was infuriated. "ARE YOU SAYING I REMAIN IN THIS ASS FORM UNTIL I GET TO THAT STUPID COUNTRY?" he demanded.

"Actually, I thought you always were an ass...," the woman said. "But if you really are that desperate to change back, you need to figure your own way out of this."

"Yeah, right! I bet you know how I can change back, you're just making it harder for me! You're taking advantage of me! Trust me, Woman! The last person that took advantage of me regretted it!" he remembered that mutt Joey, how he hated him." Seto arched his neck, his ears were pinned to his skull. "Change me back now!" He stamped his hoof.

"To tell you the truth, I wouldn't even if I could. So you can forget that, Young Man!...or should I say...Colt?" said the woman, smiling smuggly. Seto gave up, she was not intimidated by him at all. He was just making himself look stupid. He relaxed a little, but his white hot anger had not yet cooled down. He lowered his head, this time his ears were pricked, listening to what she was about to say. So far he was only making a fool of himself. "This is your destiny Seto. If it wasn't then you wouldn't have come here anyway. Just follow along with what that girl is trying to teach you. Trust the path set before you. Then will you see what I mean."

"I still don't get...," Seto said. The woman had already started her journey out of the forest . Seto began to follow her, but stopped in his tracks.

"JUST DO IT!" the woman called and Seto watched her walk away. He tried to call her back but his voice had become a horse's again.

**8:30-Back at the Gilliland Ranch...**

"I'm sorry you got hurt Joey! Really, I am!" Rae had said for the four-hundreth time that night. She still felt a lingering pang of guilt. "I don't know what's wrong with me, I had no idea...,"

"It's okay!" Joey said calmly. "I'm fine now." He lied again. "It's not like I'm going to die any time now." He laughed. Rae didn't think that was funny, that had scared her more than anything. And the worst part about it was that it would have been all her fault if Zan had...

"Hey, Joey, you said you liked Duel Monsters didn't you?" asked Rae. The change of subject sounded awkward. "Uh...you wanna...,"

"Duel?" Joey asked.

"Um...just for fun! Not anything really serious." said Rae.

"Sure, I haven't dueled since, like, forever!" Joey said. "But I have to warm you, I almost beat Kaiba once!" He laughed and they both got their cards ready. Yugi was about to leave the room ."Hey, Yugi, where are ya' goin'? Wanna watch me take down Rae?" Joey asked. Rae rolled her eyes.

"Nah, that's okay, I'm just going to step outside for a while." Yugi said. Yugi walked outside. The sun was still quite high in the sky. It occured to him that he was in the West and the sun set later than it did in Domino City. He decided to talk to Yami. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Pharoah, is it just because I'm in a different place?" (You all know how Yugi converses with Yami so I'm not going into detail for the simple fact that it is difficult for my 7th Grade vocabulary to describe it in words.)

"_Maybe, but I think it's just what's been happening for the past year_." said Yami. "_You need to just loosen up a bit, you're on a vacation."_

"Some relaxing vacation. Weird stuff's been happening over here. Joey was nearly killed by a horse and even Tea's acting strange." Yugi said. "And Joey. All he thinks about is dueling. I wish he could just forget about it."

"_That's odd for you to say such a thing like that, Partner_." said Yami.

"I just don't feel the same way about dueling anymore. My cards don't have the same connection with my heart as they used to have. Now they're just...just...peices of paper with pictures of monsters on them." said Yugi.

"_Hmmm...I think you need to renew that connection in order to fulfill our destiny."_ said Yami.

"But I...," Yugi said.

Yami stopped him. "_Don't worry about tackling this alone, you have your friends and you have me. Remember Partner, we're in this together. Right_?"


End file.
